CDFA's Enhance Family Law

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.

 “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

“However the [CDFA™] 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

“CDFA™s 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

“[CDFA™s] 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

WHY WORK WITH A CDFA™

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.

HOW CAN A CDFA™ HELP A FAMILY LAW LAWYER?
THE IMPACT A CDFA™ CAN MAKE ON YOUR CLIENTS