Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

That should be correct, but I never like to state that things can be certain with credit reporting. I suggest you check your credit report every few months during the next year. You are entitled to a free report once each year from the reporting agencies. We typically send people to annualcreditreport.com. Skip the part for purchasing your credit score and move on to the credit report section. Select one of the agencies. In four months, do it again, using one of the remaining agencies. That should allow you to get your report three times each year.

The facts you state suggest that you are being asked to sign because you have gained an interest in the property, possibly because your parents did not own the property in a form of ownership where one survives to the property. You likely were not a party to the loan, so signing sale documents should not impact you. If you recall being involved in the loan, then your credit would be impacted.

I agree with Mr. Repay. The key to negative credit events in short sales really is who is liable to the lender for any deficiency. So if your mom signed the note and mortgage, theoretically it would be her credit that is affected and not yours. You are joining in only to allow the sale. My question is why you are bing asked to join in the sale documents, and again agree with Mr. Repay - normally if spouses own their marital home they would own it either in joint tenancy or tenants by the entirety and on the death of one the survivor inherits directly from the deceased spouse, so it sounds as though they may have owned it as tenants in common or he actually owned it outright; in either case the inheritance would be split between your mom and you (and any sibs). However, I also agree with Mr. Repay that you never know how the negative credit event will be reported or even if reported correctly how it will be picked up by the credit reporting agencies, who may just pick your name up along with your mom's, but so if it does show up on yours there are ways of clearing it and the agencies are obliged to do so if in fact you have no liability for the debt.