Q: My husband and I refinanced our home in 2010. Years later, our mortgage was sold to another lender. Eventually I noticed that the maturity date of the new account is showing eight years beyond when our original mortgage was to end. I’ve tried to straighten this out with the new lender, but I didn’t receive any signed copies of the loan paperwork. I have a folder that was given to me by the processor that says “Borrower’s Copies,” but not one of them has a signature. I need the original information to argue the maturity date with the new lender. How do I go about getting copies of the original loan?

A: The vast majority of Americans who refinance their homes go from one 30-year mortgage to another. You refinanced in 2010 and should make your last payment on that loan in 2040. Based on your question, it appears you think the new loan servicer has set your loan termination for 2048.

Now, if you had refinanced in 2010 and took out a 15-year mortgage, the due date of your loan would be in 2025. We’d understand your shock at seeing your loan term extended through 2033. It’s hard to understand how a loan servicer can get these things wrong, but they sometimes do and they make it hard to correct them.

You should be able to get a copy of your mortgage document from the local office that handles the filing or recording of real estate documents; the recorder of deeds office may have an online system where you can download a copy of your mortgage. You may be able to order it online and have it sent to you, or you may have to visit the office to view and order a copy.

The vast majority of residential loans follow the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac form documentation. This means that when you get a copy of the mortgage, you should see a paragraph on the first or second page that clearly indicates the date you signed the note and mortgage and the day that you will make the last payment.

Once you have a signed copy of your mortgage, you can provide a copy to your loan servicer and they can confirm the due date for your last payment under your loan. And they should then correct their records.

You’ll also want to verify that your monthly mortgage payment is correct and matches what you should have been paying. What we mean is, if you are paying off a loan that is set to terminate eight years later than your original mortgage, you may not be paying the correct amount.

If all else fails, you might want to compare the interest rate you’re paying on your 2010 loan with interest rates today. It might be easier to refinance a loan if rates are better today (hard to imagine, given where interest rates are) than try to fight the servicer on their mistake. You could spend a long time waiting on the phone and getting the runaround. By the way, if you do get the runaround, call the mortgage company’s headquarters and ask to speak to the ombudsman or head of operations. Both of these people should know how to cut through red tape.

Something else that occurred to us: Did you believe that when you refinanced your loan in 2010 you were keeping the same maturity date from your original loan? Sometimes people make the mistake of thinking that when they take out a loan with the purchase of a home, say in 2002, and they expect to pay off that debt in 2032. But if you refinanced in 2010, the lender might have reset the repayment clock, so your payoff date would be in 2040, not 2032.

The key is finding your documents. Start there and you should be able to get this mess straightened out.

Ilyce Glink is the CEO of Best Money Moves and Samuel J. Tamkin is a real estate attorney. Contact them through the website ThinkGlink.com.