Divorcing after 55? See what the house can actually do.
One of you may want to stay. One of you needs somewhere to go. This runs the same HUD table every lender uses and shows what a reverse mortgage can fund for each of you — including the part most calculators leave out, which is how much arrives on the day you close.
No name, no email, no phone number required to see the answer. If it does not work on your numbers, it will say so.
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Entirely optional. I’ll email you the figures on this page, once.
Five ways files like yours actually close
Three things this calculator does that others do not
The buyout number most people expect and the number a lender can actually fund are rarely the same. These are the three reasons why.
It models the first-year rule
Federal rule limits what you can draw in the first twelve months. Money used to pay off a lien already recorded against the house is treated differently from a payment to a former spouse. Tick the lien box and watch the day-one figure change — then ask your attorney about it before the settlement is drafted.
It shows the gap rather than hiding it
A reverse mortgage lends roughly a third of a home’s value in your late sixties, and an equal split asks for half. Where there is a shortfall the calculator names it and lists the five ordinary ways files like yours close.
It covers both spouses
One tab for the spouse who stays, one for the spouse buying their next home, and one for selling and both of you buying — which is often the cleanest outcome and the one couples think of last.
What this is and what it is not
An estimate, not an offer of credit, a rate quote, or a commitment to lend. It uses HUD’s published principal limit factors, the 2026 FHA limit of $1,249,125, and the interest rates shown on this page on the date given. Rates move, your home’s value needs an appraisal, and every file has facts a calculator cannot see. Call me for a real number — there is no charge and no obligation.
Written by Kenneth M. Adler
Broker & Owner, Ideal Financial, Inc. · 30 years in California lending · NMLS #240317 · CA DRE #01216608
Published September 20, 2026 · Last reviewed September 20, 2026
Every page on this site is written and maintained by me: the same person who answers the phone, runs your numbers, and handles your file start to finish. No call center, no hand-offs, no lead-selling. More about how I work →
The rest of the reverse mortgage library
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Fifteen minutes. Real numbers. Then you decide.
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