Illinois Mortgage/title Situation — What Would Be The Safest Course Of Action For My Mom?

I’m looking for advice from anyone familiar with Illinois real estate law, mortgages, title issues, or situations involving family members on a mortgage/deed.

My parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in 1995. Shortly after arriving, my dad’s younger brother came to the U.S. with a temporary Social Security number/authorization. My parents wanted to purchase a home, but my dad apparently used his younger brother’s Social Security information to obtain the mortgage.

As a result, the house has been in my uncle’s name rather than my parents’ names. My parents eventually divorced, and my mom remained living in the house. She has continued making the mortgage payments and has been living here for years. I currently live here with her.

The mortgage payment is only about $1,044/month, and my mom has continued paying it. However, I’m concerned that we’re essentially putting money into a property that legally belongs to someone else. There are also apparently liens associated with my dad and/or uncle that could potentially complicate the property.

My dad’s family and I are estranged, so I don’t have a relationship with my uncle and don’t feel comfortable relying on him indefinitely.

What I’m trying to figure out is what the safest and most financially sensible course of action is for my mom and me.

Would it make more sense to:

Continue making the $1,044 mortgage payment and keep living here while I work on helping my mom establish/build credit so she can eventually qualify for a mortgage in her own name?
Try to resolve the title situation and somehow have the property transferred into my mom’s name, assuming that’s legally possible?
Purchase/refinance the property in my mom’s name?
Stop investing money into this house and start planning to purchase a different home that is actually in my mom’s name?
Or is there another option I’m overlooking?

I understand that the way the original mortgage was obtained could create serious legal issues, and I’m not looking for advice on hiding or misrepresenting anything to a lender. I’m trying to figure out what we should do \*now\* to protect my mom’s housing situation and avoid putting more money into a property we may ultimately have no legal claim to.

For anyone familiar with Illinois law: what would you do first if you were in my mom’s position? Would the first step be getting a title search, reviewing the mortgage/deed and lien records, and speaking privately with an Illinois real-estate attorney before making any decisions about continuing payments or attempting a refinance?

I’m especially interested in hearing from Illinois attorneys or people who have dealt with a similar title/mortgage situation.

Location: Illinois