Certified Divorce Financial Analyst
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst
Why a CDFA
A CERTIFIED DIVORCE FINANCIAL ANALYST® is a crucial and valuable asset during divorce proceedings, both for the clients and the other professionals involved as they have a unique and thorough understanding of the financial obstacles that arise during the divorce process. There are options outside of the legal system that helps navigate divorce to reduce costs and protect and preserve assets.
As a CDFA® practitioner, Jimmie can assist in one of two specific ways in the divorce process:
- Counsel one spouse of a divorcing couple as an INDIVIDUAL ADVOCATE
- Or Act as financial analyst and mediator for both parties as a THIRD PARTY FINANCIAL NEUTRAL
Sometimes, the long-term financial consequences of a divorce are not foreseen by the divorce spouses or their attorney; a CDFA® can bring hir or her financial expertise to the case to protect one or both of the spouses. However a CDFA® is not a replacement for a divorce attorney, and any CDFA® will tell you that he or she is not acting in the role of an attorney. A CDFA® cannot and will not give legal advice. Lawyers know about the law, but a CDFA® brings financial clarity, creativity, and confidence into the settlement negotiation.
Benefits of a CDFA
- Help manage the financial expectations both during the divorce and expectations for final settlements by presenting different financial scenarios including both pre and post-divorce budget/cash flow.
- Assist both you and your attorney in collecting the necessary data and providing analysis using Family Law Software to analyze the current assets, income, and budgets for both parties. These asset and cash flow comparisons are then forecasted into the future to model fair equitable proposed settlement options.
- Help both parties come to a mutually beneficial agreement leading to a greater sense of confidence in decisions throughout the process
- Work through and resolve complex Financial Issues:
- Continued health care coverage
- Dividing pension plans business ownership and profits
- Tax consequences
- Stock option elections
- Other investments
- Community Property
- Child Support
- Spousal Support (Alimony
A CDFA’s® knowledge of financial issues specific to divorce is a great benefit to attorneys and individuals going through a divorce. Consider utilizing the experience of a CDFA® to help resolve your financial issues during and after divorce. Detailed financial analysis of possible settlement outcomes is a powerful tool for attorneys and clients when negotiating a divorce.
Going through a divorce is expensive, there are no two ways about it. You must invest thousands of dollars for legal services and not to mention the also the need to settle on living arrangements, child support, and other matters. One of the reasons to hire a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® practitioner is to help with the budgeting of the divorce process and help you figure out who will pay for these expensive divorce expenses.
Since asset division decisions are not always easy to make and it is not always fair to divorce assets equally, a CDFA® can work with your lawyer and divorce team to determine equitable solutions that can work for both partners. Perhaps the most complicated aspect of divorce is determining how to divide assets like real estate, retirement accounts, and investments. Negative emotions may clout one’s judgment, so having an objective and neutral third party will help the asset division process through the process.
Divorce proceedings can get messy and ugly – but it does not have to be when you employ a CDFA® who will help you in sorting out your finances.