What is a certified divorce financial analyst?
Divorce is fraught with many financial repercussions. Let us help guide you through the process. A 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®:
- Becomes part of the divorce team, providing litigation support for the lawyer and client, or becomes a member of a Collaborative Law team. In either event, the CDFA® will be responsible for:
- Identifying the short-term and long-term effects of dividing property.
- Integrating tax issues.
- Analyzing pension and retirement plan issues.
- Determining if the client can afford the matrimonial home—and if not, what might be an affordable alternative.
- Evaluating the client’s insurance needs.
- Establishing assumptions for projecting inflation and rates of return.
- Bringing an innovative and creative approach to settling cases.
The CDFA® also:
- Provides the client and lawyer with data that shows the financial effect of any given divorce settlement.
- Appears as an expert witness if the case should go to court, or in mediation or arbitration proceedings.
- Is familiar with tax issues that apply to divorce.
- Has background knowledge of the legal issues in divorce.
- Is trained to interview clients so as to:
- Collect financial and expense data.
- Help client’s 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 life style they want.
- Determine the costs of their children’s education.