CDFA® Professionals can help to create financial settlements that work – both now and in the future.
All assets are not created equal: which "half" of the marital property your client receives makes all the difference!
Can your client afford to accept the proposed settlement? Would you stake your reputation on it?
A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) professional can help you and your client address the financial issues of divorce with reports that can help achieve settlements that work today – and in the future.
A CDFA professional can:
- Complete the detailed divorce financial anlysis work for you, making case preparation and settlement easier
- Provide in-depth analysis of the short- and long-term financial effects of a proposed settlement
- Work as a consultant or expert witness
About CDFA Professionals
A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) professional has:
- Passed the CDFA Certification examination
- Extensive financial expertise in the fields of financial services, accounting, or law
- Received specialized training in the financial issues of divorce
- Fulfilled continuing education requirements
In order to become a CDFA professional, a candidate must meet the elibility requirements, successfully complete the certification examination, and be in good standing with his or her firm or broker/dealer and any governmental regulatory agencies.
Founded in 1993, the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA) is the most established and recognized designation in financial analysis for divorce. In order to become a CDFA professional, a candidate must successfully complete a series of exams based on a self-study course offered by the Institute, be in good standing with his or her firm or broker/dealer and any governmental regulatory agencies, and complete a minimum of 30 hours of divorce-related continuing education courses every two years.
A CDFA professional can help the client understand:
- Separate vs. Marital property
- Valuing and dividing property
- Debt, credit, and bankruptcy
- Retirement and pensions
- Spousal and child support
- Options for the Matrimonial Home
- Divorce tax problems and solutions
The Experts Talk about CDFA Professionals
“However the divorce [financial analyst] enters the process, the participation of a financial specialist can benefit both clients and lawyers, according to Sandra Morris [former president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers]. While the [CDFA] wades through the financial morass of a divorce, the attorney is freed up to focus on legal issues.”
– Lawyers Weekly
“The professions of divorce financial analysis and matrimonial law have a long, prosperous future together. The skilled CDFA brings rationality to an irrational situation.”
– Frederic J. Seigel, Esq.
Partner, Fitzmaurice & Seigel, CT
“CDFAs can provide invaluable information that allows the court to arrive at a fair, equitable, and just resolution – not just at the moment of trial, but down the road as well.”
– Honorable Kathleen M. McCarthy, JD
Family Court Division Judge, MI
“[CDFAs] watch out for tax snafus, help clients obtain health insurance after a split, and demystify tough-to-value private-equity or hedge-fund investments.”
– The Wall Street Journal
“Family law clients need all the help they can get. A good lawyer working with a CDFA can make even the most difficult cases move forward in a cost-efficient and effective way. Good team-work between a lawyer and CDFA always pays dividends for clients.”
– Michael G. Cochrane, LL.B.
Partner, Ricketts, Harris LLP, ON
Author, Surviving Your Divorce: A Guide to Canadian Family Law