Question: My sister and her husband bought a ten-acre
parcel of land near Wickenburg eight years ago with my sister’s
401K money. When my sister recently checked the records of the
Maricopa County Recorder’s website (www.maricopa.gov), she found
a deed from her and her husband two years ago to a buyer of the
ten-acre parcel of land. My sister’s signature on the deed, however,
is a forgery. Her signature on the deed was notarized by her husband’s
secretary. My sister and her husband are going through a divorce
now, and her husband refuses to talk to her about the forged signature
on the deed. What can my sister do?
Answer: Your sister is still the owner of her interest
in the ten-acre parcel of land because your sister’s forged signature
conveyed nothing. The buyer of the ten-acre parcel of land now
only owns the husband’s interest in the land, and the buyer has
a claim under any title insurance policy for the loss of your
sister’s interest in the land. Both your sister’s husband and
his secretary may have criminal and civil liability for the forgery
of your sister’s signature on the deed.
