Home > Faq

Let us help you locate an attorney. Use the form below to find a divorce attorney in your area.

What is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst?

A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst is a professional financial analyst and advisor who brings his or her expertise in tax and financial issues to a divorce case. Your divorce lawyer may have recommended the services of a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst for a number of reasons, probably based on the complexity of your finances. The Certified Divorce Analyst may:

  • counsel one spouse of a divorcing couple
      or
  • act as a financial analyst and mediator for both spouses

Financial Planning Experience and Knowledge
A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst has a minimum of two years of professional financial planning or legal experience. He or she has also completed a rigorous program and examination by The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts.

Complex Financial Issues
A divorce can have long-lasting, profound effects on the finances of each spouse, and the couple's children, if any. The complexity of the finances of many couples, plus that of the current tax code, often oblige a divorce attorney to recommend the services of a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. Issues involving matters such as the following are commonly handled by a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst:

  • 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)

Toward an Equitable Settlement
The job of a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst is to advise and help, and sometimes to mediate. A divorce settlement that is equitable and satisfactory to both parties in the divorce is the ultimate goal of the CDFA. Sometimes, the long-term financial consequences of a divorce are not foreseen by the divorcing spouses or their attorneys; a CDFA can bring his or her financial expertise to the case to protect one or both 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 attorney. The CDFA's role is to help the divorce attorney (or attorneys) arrive at a fair financial arrangement. CDFAs can't give legal advice.

Find a Divorce Attorney Near You
We can help you find an experienced divorce attorney in your area. Contact us online for assistance.

>>back to FAQ main menu

Hawaii Alaska California Washington Oregon Nevada Idaho Montana Wyoming Utah Arizona New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington DC Colorado North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas New Mexico Texas Okalahoma Minnesota Iowa Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Wisconsin Illinois Indiana Michigan Ohio Florida Mississippi Alabama Georgia Kentucky Tennessee South Carolina North Carolina Virginia West Virginia Pennsylvania New York vermont Maine