Facilitating a Loan Assumption After Divorce: Why You Need a Specialist in Your Corner
When you bought your home or refinanced, you didn’t do it alone. You had a loan officer guiding the process—structuring the file, explaining documentation, translating underwriting requirements, and pushing the transaction across the finish line. But when it comes to...
Understanding the Appraiser’s Role in Divorce: Why Accurate Home Valuation Matters More Than You Think
Understanding the Appraiser’s Role in Divorce: Why Accurate Home Valuation Matters More Than You Think When you’re navigating a divorce, one of the most emotionally charged and financially impactful questions is: What is the home really worth? Determining fair market...
Understanding Mortgage Interest Deduction vs. Standard Deduction (Important IRS Rules)
📌 Mortgage Interest Is Only Deductible if You Itemize To benefit from the mortgage interest write‑off, you must itemize deductions on your federal tax return (Schedule A of Form 1040). If your total itemized deductions — including mortgage interest, property taxes,...
Collaborative Divorce: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and What People Need to Understand
Collaborative divorce is often described as the best way to get divorced — and in many cases, I agree. But it’s also one of the most misunderstood divorce processes, especially when it comes to cost, expectations, and commitment. Before choosing a collaborative...
Do Divorcing Clients Really Have to Wait Until the Final Decree to Buy a Home?
Many Realtors are told — often by well-meaning lenders — that a divorcing client cannot buy a home until the divorce is finalized. But that guidance is not always accurate. In many cases, the issue is not the divorce itself — and it’s not a lending rule. The real...
The Double Standard No One Wants to Talk About: When Women Are the Higher Earner in Divorce
There is a conversation happening quietly—and sometimes uncomfortably—inside divorce proceedings that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. And as a woman, a mortgage professional, and someone who has been the primary income earner in my own household for many...
Needing a Co-Signer After Divorce Isn’t Failure — It’s Strategy
If you’re going through a divorce and struggling to qualify for a mortgage, you’re not alone — and you’re not doing anything wrong. One of the most emotionally charged topics I navigate with divorcing clients, especially those in their 40s and 50s, is the idea of...
Divorce and the Mortgage: What I Do, What You Get, and Why It Matters
If You're Divorcing and Own a Home, Read This First Divorce disrupts everything, and housing is often the biggest financial and emotional decision on the table. Should you keep the home? Sell it? Assume the mortgage? Qualify to buy something new? These are not...
CDFA vs. CDLP: What’s the Difference—And Why You Might Need Both During Divorce
Divorce Comes with Decisions. Big Ones. Especially when real estate and retirement accounts are involved. Especially when your income is complex. Especially when you want to keep the house but aren’t sure if you can. In this fog of legal documents, emotional...
Co-Signers in Divorce: What You’re Really Asking — and Why It Sometimes Makes Sense
Going through divorce often means navigating financial decisions you never expected to face — including the possibility of needing a co-signer to move forward. For many people, that idea alone feels uncomfortable. By the time someone is going through divorce, they are...
Self-Employment Income and Divorce: Why Qualifying for a Mortgage Is More Complicated Than You Think
If you’re self-employed and going through divorce, understanding how your income is evaluated for a mortgage is critical — and it’s one of the most common places where divorce settlements fall apart after the fact. What many people don’t realize is that lenders are...
Homeownership After Divorce: Understanding Your Housing Options
One of the biggest misconceptions people have during divorce is the belief that there is one “right” housing decision. For many divorcing homeowners, the reality is far more complex. Some people truly have very limited options. In certain situations, there may be no...
How the Garn–St. Germain Act Protects Your Mortgage in Divorce (And Where It Doesn’t)
Divorce can disrupt nearly every part of your life—but if you understand the Garn–St. Germain Act, your mortgage doesn’t have to be one of them. This federal law can be a powerful tool for divorcing homeowners who want to stay in their home and avoid refinancing at a...
Can You Buy a Home Before Your Divorce Is Final?
Yes—but only with proper structure and strategy. Buying a home before your divorce is finalized can be legal, strategic, and stabilizing. But it’s also one of the most misunderstood moves in divorce real estate—and it’s easy to get it wrong. This isn’t about finding a...
Do You Actually Need a Divorce Mortgage Consultant? Here’s the Truth.
Let’s be clear: If you never plan to own a home in your life—then no, you probably don’t need me. But if you’re going through divorce and homeownership is anywhere in your future, there’s a high likelihood you do need divorce mortgage planning—whether you realize it...
Is Your Lender Telling You No? Why That Might Not Be the Final Answer
Divorce is overwhelming. When you’re also trying to keep—or qualify for—a mortgage, it can feel like every door is closing. Maybe your lender says you can’t assume the mortgage. Or that you don’t qualify to buy your spouse out. Or that you have to refinance. Here’s...
Why You Need a Divorce Team: Key Experts to Protect Your Finances, Home, and Future
If you’re navigating a divorce, one of the most costly mistakes you can make is trying to do it alone—or assuming that a single professional, like your attorney, can handle everything. The truth is: divorce is more than a legal event. It’s a financial, emotional, and...
Divorce Season: Why Consultations Surge—and What Homeowners Must Know
By Karla Kyte, CDLP® | My Divorce Mortgage Planning | Denver, CO Every January, a predictable pattern sets in: divorce consultations surge. Not because something dramatic happens after the holidays—but because people are ready. They’ve made the decision, or are close...
Divorce and Credit Scores: What Debts Really Count Against You When Qualifying for a Mortgage
By Karla Kyte, CDLP®, CMA, REM-S Founder, My Divorce Mortgage Planning | Certified Divorce Lending Professional Divorce is messy enough without misinformation clouding your financial future. One of the most misunderstood areas—by consumers and lenders alike—is how...
Capital Gains in Divorce: The Tax Trap Most Couples Miss When Dividing the Marital Home
Divorcing in Colorado? Capital gains on the marital home can create huge tax surprises. Learn how to avoid them with expert divorce mortgage planning. Capital Gains in Divorce: The Tax Trap Most Couples Miss When Dividing the Marital Home After 28 years in the...