Your Reverse Mortgage Paperwork Checklist

10. If necessary, proof of an immediate hardship. If you have major medical expenses or another type of immediate hardship, or if your expenses and debt payments are more than your income, you may not have to pay a counseling fee, or you may be able to pay it out of the proceeds of your reverse mortgage, but you'll need to provide proof of your hardship.

11. If necessary, partner's death certificate. "If the property was held jointly and one of the spouses has passed away, you'll need a death certificate which gets submitted with the reverse mortgage application," says DeMarkey. If you don't already have a certified copy of your spouse's death certificate, you can get one through the city or municipality where your spouse passed away.