If you think that incompatibility, infidelity, and money issues can lead a couple straight to divorce, you might just be right.

While incompatibility, infidelity, and money issues continue to dominate discussions around why couples divorce, today’s CDFA® professionals are seeing a shift in how clients approach those challenges. According to IDFA’s 2025 Voice of the Customer Survey, more individuals are seeking financial guidance early in the divorce process—not just for cleanup, but for clarity and strategic planning.

A CDFA professional 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.

“Clients find me through my CDFA listing on the IDFA website and Google. They want someone who truly understands the financial side of divorce,” noted one CDFA professional in the 2025 Voice of the Customer Survey. This reinforces that couples aren’t just struggling with communication—they're seeking help navigating the financial complexity behind those struggles.”

Even when clients cite ‘basic incompatibility’ as the reason for divorce, CDFA professionals often recognize this as a surface label for deeper emotional, financial, or trust-based fractures that have built over time.

This trend is echoed in the 2025 Voice of the Customer Survey, where CDFA professionals report growing demand for early-stage financial guidance—especially as clients face emotionally and financially complex transitions.

Recent studies continue to confirm that financial disagreements remain a powerful predictor of divorce. In 2025,  data shows financial problems contribute to between 20% and 40% of all divorces. Gen Xers report finances as the primary reason for divorce at a rate of 41%, Boomers at 29% (Jimenez Law Firm, 2025.) 

National surveys in 2025 rank lack of commitment, infidelity, conflict, and financial issues as the leading causes of divorce. According to the National Fatherhood Initiative’s ‘National Survey of Marital Strengths,’ incompatibility remains a top cause alongside financial issues, while financial disagreements are cited by over a third of all divorcing couples.

CDFA professionals consistently report that disparate objectives, values around money, and the stress of financial decision-making during divorce remain universal across all backgrounds. The need for professional guidance in navigating these issues is stronger than ever, with recent surveys highlighting dramatic rises in client reliance on CDFA expertise during divorce.

Divorces are increasingly complex, involving a wide range of diversified financial assets, including commercial and residential real estate, investments, business holdings, and more. As of 2025, an overwhelming majority of family law professionals recognize the necessity of partnering with CDFA professionals to provide clients with the robust financial expertise required to secure fair, future-focused settlements.

Today’s financial landscape is more complex than ever. With over 90% of CDFA professionals renewing their certification annually, and 63% reporting they earn over $150K—much of it from divorce-focused work—it’s clear this expertise is both in demand and impactful. As one CDFA professional shared in the 2025 survey: ‘Every divorcing person deserves a CDFA on their team.’