HARP 2.0 DU Refi Fannie Mae: can a co-borrower (spouse) be removed without death or divorce? My loan officer insists not.

Not that I am aware of.

The only time I have seen this scenario work is when we had two unmarried borrowers on the original loan. One had moved out several years before and we could prove that the remaining borrower had made all of the last twelve months payments from their own account and that they were current.

You can if you can prove you are the one making the payments with canceled checks in your name for last 12 months.

There is definitely some confusion out there among lenders and their interpretation of HARP guidelines. The answer is Yes, a borrower can be removed on a HARP DU Refi Plus loan when refinancing, as long as one of the borrowers who was originally obligated on the loan remains on the new loan. This requires an "automated underwriting approval" in DU. (Desktop Underwriter - Fannie Mae's underwriting software.) If a downgrade to a "manual underwrite" is required for the refi approval, then some additional requirements can apply, such as confirming the remaining borrower was solely making the payments for the previous 12 months, or by death. Also, if doing a manually underwritten approved loan, if the payment is going UP by more than 20%, then some additional requirements would apply, such as a 620 min FICO. Some other guidelines may apply to your situation. You should discuss it with a lender licensed in your state. ;)