A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) is a financial professional that combines the skillsets of a Financial Advisor, an Accountant, and a Divorce Attorney. They do not take the place of your attorney, they would be used to compliment your attorney's work. CDFAs specialize in determining how property should be divided and calculating the future value of retirement or pension accounts. They can also advise on divorce related tax laws, how to formulate post divorce budgets, and how to determine spousal support and child support payments.
For divorcing couples with simple finances, a CDFA may not add enough value to warrant the price. CDFA rates can meet or exceed attorney rates, so they typically will only make sense for couples with a high net worth made up of complicated investments, particularly high net worth couples who own a business and/or have extensive real estate holdings. In these complex situations, a CDFA may be better qualified than an attorney to ensure that the assets are being split fairly.
In most situations, contacting an attorney to discuss your case before contacting a CDFA is the way to go. Your attorney may be able to advise on whether a CDFA is worth the investment or not. If you do elect to use a CDFA, you should make sure to communicate with your CDFA and your attorney throughout the process to ensure that you are not paying two different people to do the same job.
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