Certified Divorce Financial Analysis (CDFA)
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As an expert quoted in Forbes Magazine, The Divorce Help Clinic is the place to turn when divorce is looming. The financial aspect of divorce needs to be done right. We do that for you!
We Fill the Gap with Financial Knowledge and Information
To best meet your financial needs in divorce, financial planning is critical. To meet this need a new professional designation was created – the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™. The role of the CDFA™ is to help you and your mediator understand how the financial decisions made today will impact your financial future, based on certain assumptions.
The CDFA is someone who comes from a financial planning, accounting or legal background and goes through an intensive training program to become skilled in analyzing and providing expertise related to the financial issues of divorce. The CDFA™.
What is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA)?
A Divorce Financial Analyst is someone who specializes in the financial issues surrounding divorce. At The Divorce Help Clinic™ the role of the CDFA includes acting as a mediator for both parties or as an advisor to one party's divorce lawyer. A CDFA uses his or her knowledge of tax law, asset distribution, and short- and long-term financial planning to achieve an equitable settlement.
- Brings an innovative and creative approach to settling cases.
- Provides the client and lawyer with data that shows the financial effect of any given divorce settlement.
- Appears as an expert witness in court or in mediation or arbitration proceedings.
- Is knowledgeable about specific tax laws that apply to divorcing couples.
- Has knowledge about the legal issues in divorce.
- Is trained to interview clients to: Collect financial and expense data
- Help them identify their future financial goals
- Develop a budget
- Set retirement objectives
- Determine how much risk they are willing to take with their investments
- Identify what kind of lifestyle they want
- Determine what kind of education you want for your children
- Estate planning and distribution
When to Use a CDFA During Divorce
- To determine the valuation of Marital Assets and Agreements
- To provide litigation support to lawyers
- To serve as a financial expert on divorce cases
- To determine financial implications of different divorce settlement proposal
What is a Divorce Financial Planner
The divorce financial planner is the financial expert on your divorce team at The Divorce Help Clinic. This is the person who is responsible for creating the comprehensive financial analyses and the projections that you will need to fully understand the short- and long-term financial and tax implications of your proposed divorce settlement. We easily run different scenarios so you make informed decisions about your options.
Our divorce financial planners job is to take care of the critical financial tasks that are beyond the scope of either your mediator or divorce attorneys’ expertise. Those tasks can range from preparing the financial affidavits to projecting the financial and tax implications of each divorce settlement option.
At a minimum, your divorce financial planner should have the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) designation. Do not use a regular financial advisor, financial planner, CPA or accountant. Instead, you need someone who has a complete understanding of, and specialized training in, divorce. Ideally, your divorce financial planner also will have additional advanced training in divorce financial planning strategies and asset protection. At The Divorce Help Clinic, ours do.
Think of the divorce financial planner like the quarterback of your financial team. Your mediator or attorney will use analyses and projections prepared by the divorce financial planner to substantiate and justify his/her positions when negotiating with your spouse's attorney.
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Disclaimer: Legal Information Is Not Legal Advice. The Divorce Help Clinic provides information about the law designed to help you safely cope with your own legal needs. Legal information is not the same as legal advice--the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances. Although we go to great lengths to make sure our information is accurate and useful, we recommend you consult a lawyer if you want professional assurance that our information, and your interpretation of it, is appropriate to your particular situation.
