Four Points Worth Checking Before the Decree Is Entered
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
A short page for counsel. No pitch, no referral arrangement, the financing points that most often turn an entered decree into a problem.
★★★ 1. The agreement has to address the refinance proceeds
Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-1.3-02 conditions limited cash-out treatment on a written agreement signed by all parties stating "the terms of the property transfer and the proposed disposition of the proceeds from the refinance transaction."
★★★ A decree awarding the residence and dividing equity addresses the first limb. Whether it says where the refinance proceeds go is separate, and it surfaces in underwriting, after entry, when a further signature from the other party is hardest to obtain.
★★★ 2. Twelve months of joint ownership, to disbursement
"jointly owned for at least 12 months preceding the disbursement date." It runs to funding, not filing; it is a title test; and falling short does not prevent the loan but reclassifies it as cash-out. ★ Where the deed date is close, a closing window drafted a few weeks later changes the classification.
★★ 3. "Awarded" carries financing value
Selling Guide B2-1.3-03: "There is no waiting period if the lender documents that the borrower… was legally awarded the property", displacing the six-month on-title requirement; and the twelve-month seasoning of the loan being paid off "does not apply… when buying out a co-owner pursuant to a legal agreement."
★★★ 4. The Georgia cost that scales with the number you negotiate
The intangible recording tax is $1.50 per $500 of the face amount of the note: 0.30%, capped at $25,000. The note is sized by what the retaining spouse must pay out, so the larger the equalising payment, the larger this tax.
★★ Worth modelling alongside the buyout figure rather than discovered on a closing statement. ★ The Department of Revenue routes exemption questions to local tax officials, so we assert none in either direction. The provision.
★★ Two more that affect the file
- ★★★ The county base-year freeze. DOR describes these as freezing valuation "for as long as the homeowner resides on the property." Whether one survives a transfer between spouses is something we did not read and do not opine on, but on an appreciated home it affects the escrow, the payment and therefore whether the buyout qualifies. If your client's county has one, it is worth a call to the tax commissioner before the transfer. Why
- ★★ Support cuts both ways. Selling Guide B3-3.4-02 permits support as income only with a six-month receipt history and documented continuance of at least three years from application; the same obligation reduces the payor's capacity. ★★★ And: "Lump sum equalization payments are not considered a steady source of income."
★ One Georgia-specific note
Where a jury trial is in prospect under O.C.G.A. § 19-5-1, the buyout figure is less predictable in advance than a negotiated one. ★ We are glad to model a range rather than a single number, which is often more useful to counsel at that stage. We offer no view on the jury decision itself.
★★ What this page is not
- ★★ Not a referral arrangement. No attorney referrals, sought or given; nothing paid or received for introductions.
- ★★ Not legal guidance. We are a lender quoting agency requirements and an agency's published tax figures.
- ★ Not a guarantee. Agency requirements read 2026-10-10; they change and carry lender overlays.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage, NMLS #173855 · (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
What do Georgia family law attorneys most often miss in a buyout?
The Fannie Mae requirement in B2-1.3-02 that the written agreement signed by all parties state the proposed disposition of the proceeds from the refinance, not only the terms of the property transfer, and the Georgia intangible recording tax at 0.30 percent of the face amount of the note, which scales with the size of the equalising payment.Does the Georgia intangible recording tax grow with the buyout figure?
Yes, in direct proportion. It is charged at $1.50 per $500 of the face amount of the note, so a larger equalising payment produces a larger note and a larger tax, up to the $25,000 cap on any single note.Does this lender pay for attorney referrals?
No. We make no attorney referrals, ask for none, and pay or receive nothing for introductions. We also offer no view on whether a client should demand a jury trial.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about mortgage financing during and after a divorce. Not a loan commitment, and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a lender; it is not a law firm, does not represent any party to a divorce, does not make attorney referrals, takes no position on how property should be divided, and gives no advice on whether to demand a jury trial. Georgia property division is governed by the Official Code of Georgia Annotated and by case law and is applied by the superior courts; the intangible recording tax and the real estate transfer tax are administered by the Georgia Department of Revenue and collected by the clerk of the superior court, and homestead exemptions are administered by county tax officials. Agency requirements described here are Fannie Mae Selling Guide provisions current as of the date shown and are subject to change and to lender overlays. Housing market figures describe the twelve months to August 2026 and are not a forecast. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.