Having a strong divorce team with creative thinking can be a major asset in divorce.

Couples contemplating divorce want to know “what they are legally entitled to.”

It is natural to want the information to help with divorce planning and set expectations. Since divorce is a legal process, people turn to “legal entitlements” as a measuring stick.

Sometimes you just need to get creative! 

Creative solutions can apply to parenting plans as well as allocation of income and the distribution of marital assets and liabilities including the disposition of the marital home and helping one or both spouses obtain mortgage financing.

Many people believe that creative thinking is something that strikes at random. In reality, there are many ways to use creative problem-solving every day, even if you don’t think you possess a single creative bone in your body. At its core, creative thinking intentionally gains new insights and different ideas through existing information. Take an Equity Buy-Out as an example:

The wife is retaining the marital home and is awarded spousal support for three years. When she meets the proof of receipt requirement to use the income as qualifying income, she may no longer meet the continuation requirement. A creative solution might be to lower the monthly support payment and extend the payment period out to 42 months. As long as the lower payment amount meets the needs for mortgage qualification, the continuation of 36 months post loan closing should be met as well.

Creative thought often involves tapping into different thinking styles and examining information from different viewpoints to develop new strategies and opportunities. Fostering creative thinking starts with changing your perspective.

Why is creative thinking critical?

It’s easy to get stuck in the same thought patterns. However, those thought patterns may hamper your innovation and keep you stuck in routines that don’t serve the best interests of the divorcing couple. Creative thinking shows us many solutions to any problem, and developing your creative thinking skills helps you recognize innovative solutions more quickly.

Thinking creatively makes you a better problem-solver, which has far-reaching benefits in both your work and personal life.

Certified Divorce Lending Professionals (CDLP™) have an enormous ability to think creatively when divorce, real property, and mortgage financing are at play. Their background knowledge allows them to work directly with the members of the professional divorce team and the divorcing homeowners to come up with creative solutions. Whether the need is to refinance the existing mortgage on the marital home or work with both spouses to ensure they are both in a position to purchase new homes once the marital home is sold.

Divorce Mortgage Planning with the help of a CDLP™ can help identify possible solutions and assist both parties to let go of counterproductive positions and emotions while taking stock of possibilities, resources, and solutions.

• A CDLP™ can help identify sources of qualified income that may help the retaining spouse either qualify for an equity buy-out refinance now or at least develop a mutually acceptable plan to obtain mortgage financing in the future, hopefully, sooner rather than later.
• A CDLP™ can help identify opportunities and solutions for the vacating spouse to purchase a new home while still on the note to the marital home. For example, making sure there is a court-ordered assignment of debt and sufficient verbiage in the marital settlement agreement or Memorandum of Understanding omitting the existing debt from their debt load on the new purchase mortgage.

Successful divorce negotiation results from effective communication and strategic negotiations in such a manner that both divorcing parties come out of the divorce whole or at least on the road to recovery.

Working together as a team and incorporating divorce mortgage planning into the negotiation cycle with a Certified Divorce Lending Professional will ultimately result in a better solution and better outcome for the divorcing couple. Certified Divorce Lending Professionals have a different perspective and ultimately provide a better solution for both the professional divorce team and the divorcing homeowner while at the same time protecting their ability to obtain mortgage financing in the future.
Do you have questions about how divorce may impact your ability to obtain mortgage financing? A Certified Divorce Lending Professional’s (CDLP™) knowledge and experience can help make the transition much smoother and more successful for all parties involved.

Working with a Certified Divorce Lending Professional (CDLP™) and incorporating Divorce Mortgage Planning into the divorce settlement may help both spouses obtain new mortgage financing post-divorce.

Contact a CDLP™ today for a copy of the Divorcing your Mortgage Homeowner Workbook, a guide to credit, real estate, and mortgage financing after divorce. This workbook will help you get organized, be prepared, and understand your mortgage financing position whether you are needing to refinance the marital home in an Equity Buy-Out situation or prepare to sell and purchase a new home post-divorce.

This is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal or tax advice. You should contact an attorney or tax professional to obtain legal and tax advice. Interest rates and fees are estimates provided for informational purposes only and are subject to market changes. This is not a commitment to lend. Rates change daily – call for current quotations.  The information contained in this newsletter has been prepared by, or purchased from, an independent third party and is distributed for consumer education purposes.

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