When the marital home is on the table, what usually gets offered is an opinion about the mortgage. Often a verbal one, in a meeting, from someone who will not be there when it matters.
The Divorce Mortgage Planning Report™ is a document instead. A structured written analysis of what the mortgage will actually support, prepared by a Certified Divorce Lending Professional using association software, in a form you can put in the file, hand to the other side, and rely on while the agreement is still being written.
Knowledge earns a seat at the table. The report is what you put on the table.
What the report contains
Nine sections. The same nine every time, which is what makes one report comparable to another.
- Executive Summary & Strategic FindingsWritten for the room, not for underwriting. This is the page an attorney or mediator reads first.
- Property Details & Real Property Reconciliation
- Financial Details & Safe Housing BudgetWhat the household can carry after the split, not what a lender will maximally approve.
- Equity Buyout & Refinance ScenariosModeled side by side, so the trade-offs are visible rather than argued.
- Reverse Mortgage Strategy
- Purchase Options for Transitioning HouseholdsThe spouse leaving the home has a financing problem too, and it is usually addressed last or not at all.
- Financial Snapshots
- Risk Identification & Feasibility ClassificationNamed risks, and a stated classification rather than a general impression.
- Documentation Checklist & Fee Breakdowns
The framework underneath it
The report is not a template with the numbers changed. It is the output of Mortgage Capacity Mapping™, a four phase analysis developed by the Divorce Lending Association and taught in the CDLP® certification.
- Property Feasibility Analysis
- Income Qualification Structuring
- Debt Allocation Impact Modeling
- Equity & Cash Flow Solutions Engineering
The phases run in that order for a reason. Property feasibility constrains income structuring, income structuring constrains debt allocation, and the cash flow solutions at the end are only worth engineering once the first three have held.
What the report is not
It is not a loan estimate, a preapproval, or a commitment to lend by anyone. It is not legal advice or tax advice, and it does not replace counsel or a tax professional. It does not guarantee that any lender will approve any loan, because no analysis can.
What it does is put the financing question in writing, with its assumptions stated, early enough that the agreement can still account for the answer.
Who is qualified to produce one
Only a Certified Divorce Lending Professional with an active CORE membership. The report is produced using association software and the framework taught in the certification, under published practice standards that can be enforced against the person who signed it.
That last part is the part worth checking. A credential that cannot be lost means little. Before you rely on a report, confirm the professional's standing in the directory.
Client and party inputs on the left. The branded, client-ready report on the right.
The software is included with CORE
The report engine, training on how to use it, and the right to produce reports under the CDLP® standard are included with CORE membership. Reports are branded to you and generated one per case.
The attorney does not need another opinion about the mortgage. They need something they can put in the file. That is what you bring.
See CDLP® Certification and COREWorking a case now? Find a CDLP® in the relevant market, or send us the details and a certified professional will reach out.
More for family law professionals. The reference for attorneys and mediators covers feasibility, liability, valuation, income, title and settlement drafting.
Are you the divorcing homeowner rather than the professional? DivorceHousing.com explains what the report means for your household and how to request one.