You've spent months negotiating who gets the house, only to discover that the mortgage you “thought” was assumable, isn’t. Now what? Stacey Ellison, a Certified Divorce Lending Professional with over 30 years in the mortgage industry, breaks down what really happens when one spouse wants to keep the house and assume the mortgage that’s currently in both names.

Not every mortgage is assumable, and even those that are assumable usually require lender approval to do so. In other words, if your mortgage company agrees to let you assume the mortgage, you can. If they don’t, you can’t … and there’s not much you can do about it if you get denied.

What’s more, if you assume your existing mortgage, you have to find a different way to buy out your spouse’s equity. You can’t take a dime out of the equity in your home AND assume your current mortgage.

The good news is that keeping your low-interest rate mortgage isn't always the financial win it appears to be. The math around post-divorce tax filing changes can actually make refinancing at a higher interest rate more financially beneficial for you than keeping the mortgage you have.

The bottom line is that mortgage assumptions are complicated. This podcast episode will help you cut through the fog so you can create a solid financial future.

About Stacey Ellison

Stacey Ellison is a Certified Divorce Lending Professional and Divorce Mortgage Planner with over 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry. Since 2020, she has used her specialized training to help individuals navigate the complex financial decisions surrounding a home during a divorce. Working with other divorce professionals, Stacey provides strategic guidance on home equity, mortgage qualification, and housing goals. Her goal is to help divorcing homeowners make sound financial choices that support their long-term stability.

Connect with Stacey

You can connect with Stacey on LinkedIn at Stacey Ellison and on Facebook at Stacey Ellison: Certified Divorce Lending Professional and follow her on Instagram at Divorce Mortgage Solutions. To find out how to work with Stacey visit her website at Divorce Mortgage Solutions.

Karen Covy is a Divorce Coach and Consultant, Lawyer, Author, and Speaker who is dedicated to helping people make the best decisions possible for themselves, their families, and their future - especially in stressful times. You can check out Karen's videos on YouTube.

You can connect with Karen on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on her own website at karencovy.com.

When her eight-year-old girl defined her parents' divorce as "good," Sarah Armstrong, VP of Global Marketing Operations at Google, knew she was on to something important. After her marriage dissolved, Sarah was determined to put her daughter first. She and her husband did that so well that now Sarah teaches others how to protect their kids in divorce, too.

According to Sarah, the key to minimizing the damage to children in a divorce lies in parents developing a "compartmentalization muscle." (i.e. the ability to set aside your own triggers and emotional reactions for your child's sake.)

In this podcast episode, Sarah shares powerful examples of taking the high road, from showing up together at parent-teacher conferences to the seemingly small but crucial decisions like ensuring kids don't feel like "professional travelers" shuttling belongings between homes.

Sarah offers crucial mindset tips as well as simple, concrete strategies for developing communication that actually works: when to text, when to email, when to call, and how to batch topics so co-parenting stays clear without becoming constant. If your co-parent won’t meet you in the middle, Sarah outlines how to control the controllables, stop feeding the conflict, and keep the focus on your child’s stability.

If you or anyone you know is divorcing with children, this podcast episode will give you the mindset shift you need and the practical guidance you crave to really protect your kids in divorce.

About Sarah

Sarah Armstrong has spent more than 25 years in global marketing and is now VP of Global Marketing Operations at Google. She is widely acknowledged as an industry leader in her area of expertise. She is also the author of The Mom’s Guide to a Good Divorce, appearing on more than 75 podcasts and other media. She lives in San Francisco.

Connect with Sarah

You can connect with Sarah on LinkedIn at Sarah Madden Armstrong. To learn more about Sarah visit her website at The Juggling Act or The Mom's Guide to a Good Divorce. You can reach out to Sarah at sarah@thejugglingact.com.

Karen Covy is a Divorce Coach and Consultant, Lawyer, Author, and Speaker who is dedicated to helping people make the best decisions possible for themselves, their families, and their future - especially in stressful times. You can check out Karen's videos on YouTube.

You can connect with Karen on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on her own website at karencovy.com.

You don’t lose money in divorce because you’re bad at math. You lose it because you make huge financial decisions while you’re emotionally overwhelmed and financially uneducated. In this podcast episode, Leah Hadley, an accredited financial counselor, CDFA, and mediator, pulls back the curtain on the hidden health insurance traps and tax law changes scheduled to take effect in 2026 that may dramatically change your post-divorce financial future.

Leah explains how the tax and healthcare changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act may impact the amount you pay in taxes and, most significantly, in health insurance.

For example, experts are predicting that healthcare costs could increase by $1,000 or more per month in 2026 for those on marketplace insurance, making healthcare unaffordable for a significant percentage of the population. (… and that’s just ONE of the changes coming down the pike!)

On top of that, 2026 will bring tax law changes that, depending on your circumstances, can either make your financial future brighter or significantly more challenging.

Whether you’re just thinking about divorce or you’re already in the thick of it, understanding the changes that Leah explains in this podcast episode will be critical for your financial future.

About Leah

Leah Hadley is an Accredited Financial Counselor®, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®, and Mediator who helps women navigate major life transitions with confidence and clarity. She’s the founder of Intentional Divorce Solutions and Intentional Wealth Partners, where she blends financial expertise with empathy to empower clients to make values-aligned decisions about their money and their future. Through her Intentional Divorce Insights podcast and workshops, Leah inspires women to create financial and emotional stability after divorce and beyond.

Connect with Leah

You can connect with Leah on LinkedIn at Leah Hadley and Facebook at Intentional Divorce Solutions. You can follow Leah on Instagram at Intentional Divorce Solutions, on YouTube at Intentional Divorce Insights and on her Podcast Intentional Divorce Insights. To find out more about Leah’s work, visit her website at Watch Her Thrive.

Karen Covy is a Divorce Coach and Consultant, Lawyer, Author, and Speaker who is dedicated to helping people make the best decisions possible for themselves, their families, and their future - especially in stressful times. You can check out Karen's videos on YouTube.

You can connect with Karen on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on her own website at karencovy.com.