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Home Equity and Divorce
Help clients 62+ weather divorce and retire better
With over 70 million Baby Boomers¹ with an average savings of less than $200,000² and $6.8 trillion tied up
in home equity³, it’s important to consider the impact of including home equity as a solution when working
with older clients seeking a divorce. From1990 to 2015, according to Bowling Green’s National Center for
Family and Marriage Research, the divorce rate doubled for people aged 55 to 64, and even tripled for
4
Americans 65 and older . One thing that most couples don’t anticipate planning for in a retirement plan is
how to split their assets in the event of a divorce.
The FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loan has emerged as a valuable strategic tool to
enhance the financial outcomes for divorcing retirees that meet the age and equity qualifications.
How can HECM loans help stretch
split retirement assets further?
If one spouse wishes to stay If both spouses agree to sell
For the spouse who wishes to remain in the home – If neither spouse wants to continue living in the
with enough equity and eligibility – he or she could marital home and they elect to sell and divide the
take HECM loan proceeds in a lump sum distribution proceeds, each party can purchase a new home using
and use them to buyout the other spouse. This allows their divided proceeds as down payments on new
the spouse electing to stay in the home to have no homes using the funds from a HECM for Purchase loan.
monthly mortgage payments. They will however, need This allows each spouse to purchase a new principal
to continue to pay the property taxes, homeowner’s residence with no monthly mortgage payments using
insurance and home maintenance costs. a HECM for Purchase loan (so long as they continue
to pay property taxes, homeowner’s insurance,
maintenance costs, and otherwise comply with loan
terms).
Call today to learn more!
1 US Census – https://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p25-1141.pdf
2 Economic Policy Institute – http://www.epi.org/publication/retirement-
in-america/,
3 Harvard Univ. Joint Center for Housing Studies – http://www.jchs.
harvard,edu/sites/jchs.harvard.edu/files/harvard_jchs_housing_
growing_population_2916_chapter_4.pdf
4 Bowling Green’s National Center for Family and Marriage Research –
https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/wu-age-
variation-divorce-rate-1990-2015-fp-17-20.html