A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA™) can partner with lawyers or work behind the scenes to achieve the best settlement possible for their clients.
By partnering with a CDFA™ financial consultancy like Mitchell Hayes, law firms also insulate themselves from the liability associated with financial advice. Your firm is free to focus on the arduous legal aspects of your client’s case, knowing that Mitchell Hayes is focused on the client’s financial needs. In addition to the routine financial attributes, Mitchell Hayes understands:
- Qualified and non-qualified retirement plans
- Pension calculations and distribution methods
- Stock options
- Non-wage income
- Capital loss and passive activity loss carry-forwards
- Tax implications of real estate
- Tax implications of investments inclusive of capital gains and depreciation recapture
- Cash flow projections and business valuations for small businesses
- Imputed income for self-employed clients
We will work with you to devise creative settlements for your clients and provide you with straight forward reports such as a marital balance sheet for effective negotiations. Mitchell Hayes will provide financial tools for clients to implement their settlement successfully.
To achieve the smoothest possible working relationship, we are flexible in how we interact with clients and their attorneys. Mitchell Hayes can work openly with you and your client as a visible and reassuring member of your team. Or, if your client is more comfortable working with you alone, we can perform as a silent partner, discreetly providing you with our full range of services. Our goal is to provide you with creative financial solutions and allow you to focus on the legal aspects of your practice.
A CDFA professional can:
- Complete the detailed financial 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
A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) professional has:
- Graduated from the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
- 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
Founded in 1993, the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA) is the most established and recognized designation in financial planning 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 15 hours of divorce-related continuing education courses every two years.