Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: Names on mortgage

If there was fraud at the Closing, the transaction may be undone. For example, you only need to sign a deed over to your son to release your interest to him, so what were you told by the closing agent when you were asked to sign the mortgage? Were you even told that it was a mortgage? were you told it was something else?, etc. I also wonder why you are on the mortgage at all if it was part of the transaction of conveying your interest in the property to your son. I also wonder if you signed a promissory note, since that is the actual debt instrument, not the mortgage, that would require you to pay if your son did not.

As to the issue of the description of the mortgage encumbering even the portion he intended to subdivide, if the commitment from the lender or pre-closing documents describe only a portion as the intened collateral, then it may be possible to undo the error. However, I suspect that the lender intended to encumber it all and intends to require that portions of the debt are paid back as lots sell in exchange for partial releases of the mortgage.