In silver divorce, keeping the marital house is common and expedient, yet becomes dangerous after final dissolution in the case of a delayed or failed mortgage refinance. Legal and financial risks from delayed/failed mortgage refinance adversely affect both spouses and their future options for financial security, wealth, and retirement. Ubiquitous protections in silver divorce property settlement agreements like hold harmless provisions and contingencies for failed/delayed mortgage refinance, house re-sale (including sale logistics/terms), and failure to sell remain important but notably are not inviolable or bulletproof.

This webinar will help advisors collaboratively implement proactive protections and expanded options concerning marital mortgage refinance and purchase mortgage funding to retain or regain homeownership after silver divorce, including HECM Reverse Mortgage and HECM for Purchase (H4P).

Learning objectives:

1. Compare the impact of: 2008-09 (mortgage meltdown), 2019-22 (Tax Cuts & Jobs Act + pandemic/forbearance) and 2023-25 (equity, inventory, interest rates) events on divorce real estate decision-making.

2. Discover three legal and financial gaps from hold harmless provisions and related contingencies in silver divorce property settlements when the house is kept by the remaining spouse and the marital joint mortgage is not assumed or refinanced.

3. Explore legal and financial risks from silver mortgage delayed/failed refinance under forward mortgage underwriting obstacles common to seniors with expanded opportunities for successful real estate secured debt funding through a HECM Reverse Mortgage or a HECM for Purchase (H4P).

4. Under the Garn St. Germain Act [or under federal law], recognize two key risks and consequences concerning pre-existing mortgages from transferring real estate title to specific types of Trusts under federal law.

Meet Kelly Murray, J.D.

Prof. Kelly L. Murray, J.D. is a lawyer, legal scholar, and serial entrepreneur focused on Realty Asset Dispute since 2007. She is passionate about helping preserve homeownership eligibility, especially in family disputes (Divorce, Probate, Elder Law). She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford Univ., cum laude from Harvard Law School, and retired as faculty from Vanderbilt Law School (18 years/retired 2023).