Divorce FAQ

Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA) professionals have specialized training and skills that enables them to analyze various settlement proposals in their long-term context, projecting out 5, 10 or even 20 years. This helps clients determine the short- and long-term impact of any proposed settlement.

A Certified Divorce Coach® is specially trained to help you manage your emotions, provide clarity, and gain confidence as you navigate the divorce process.

A Certified Divorce Coach’s role is to provide the support you need to make the best possible decisions as you move forward with your divorce and new life.

Sometimes, emotions can cloud our judgment and lead to rash decisions. A Certified Divorce Coach will help you think and see more clearly, so you can get the best deal from your divorce. They will also help you deal with pressure from family members or from your ex.

Getting divorced requires a lot of paperwork and organization — tasks that can feel overwhelming when you’re going through emotional turmoil. A divorce coach can help you make sure you have everything you need to get it done.

Certified Divorce Coaches are highly trained to help in all areas before, during, and after the divorce process, including but not limited to:

• Co-parenting and custody issues
• Communication to reduce problems in the negotiations
• Healing from the relationship and moving on with your life
• Setting boundaries that stick before, during, and after the divorce process
• Conflict resolution
• Post-divorce transitioning

This unique combination of professional designations provides a wholistic approach to your divorce needs.

A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) helps couples and their attorneys achieve equitable divorce settlements using knowledge of tax law, asset distribution, and short- and long-term financial planning. Looking closely at your future goals, helping you with creative financial solutions to reach a fair divorce settlement.

A Certified Divorce Coach® is a trained mental health professional who works with you and shepherds you through your divorce. Certified Divorce Coaches have unique expertise in divorce, and will help you build or strengthen skills to cope with your emotions, especially at meetings with professionals and your spouse.

Working with a Divorce Professional who holds both these designations will provide a broad scope of professional services to design your customized divorce plan.

Bottom line; working with this unique set of professional designations will:

• Help you gain clarity around your financial situation in divorce
• Provide you with strategies and scenarios that help you achieve your financial, parenting, emotional/peace of mind, and future goals
• Help you cut through the emotions, as well as the often-conflicting advice received from family and friends
• With the combination of financial analysis and coaching, you will make better decisions, and be empowered to advocate for what is fair
• You will save time, money, and energy!
• You will be prepared to move forward with your life post-divorce with confidence

There are many designations for a financial expert, including: Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®).

The role of the financial planner (CFP®, PFP, RFP) is to help people achieve their financial goals regardless of whether they are divorcing or happily married. After determining the client’s goals, the next step is to take an inventory of current assets and liabilities, and then the planner looks at what needs to be done to achieve the client’s goals.

Conversely, an accountant (CPA, CA, CBV) typically looks at the details of the scenario as it is today and makes no future projections. During a separation, they are hired to calculate the tax effect of dividing property and the effect of spousal and child support for one or two years. They typically do not project further into the future. They may also be retained to perform an audit of account activity or to perform forensic accounting functions to help find “hidden assets.”

To best meet the needs of divorcing couples, you need a blend of these two ideologies; the CDFA® designation was created to fill this need. The role of the CDFA® professional is to assist the client and his/her lawyer to understand how the financial decisions he/she makes today will impact the client’s financial future based on certain assumptions. That way, the client can make informed decisions about his/her future.

Yes I do! After the divorce process is over, you may feel a flood of emotions. Relief, fear, stress, anxiety, and/or confusion over what comes next. As a CDC Transition and Recovery Specialist® and CDFA®, I work hard to help my clients create a plan for the post-divorce journey.

• Creating a custom plan to align with your post-divorce goals.
• Ensuring that the action items in your divorce decree are wrapped up on time.
• Aligning you with the right professionals to take care of your post-divorce planning needs. (i.e. Estate Planning, Home Buying, Insurance, Therapy, Career Planning, Financial Planning, etc.)

Absolutely! In working with me, we will walk through designing a co-parenting plan that makes sense for your family.

Yes! As a Certified Divorce Coach®, I am highly trained to help my clients navigate the turbulent waters that come with a high-conflict divorce and high-conflict personality disorders. These situations require careful planning, a deep understanding of high conflict personality disorders, communication expertise, and a lot of patience.

Together we will work on setting boundaries that stick, negotiation and communication strategies, and co-parenting issues with high conflict former partners.

As part of my process I will connect you with the right attorney, forensic accountants and security specialists that specialize in high-conflict situations, should the situation call for it. I can also help you with communication techniques to help you keep .

I am armed and ready with tools and resources that give my clients the courage and confidence to advocate for themselves while keeping the conflict as low as possible!

As a Certified Divorce Coach®, I am highly trained to help my clients carefully consider if divorce is the right path for them. Walking the path, and meticulously taking into account all the challenges and variables that will impact their life before, during, and after divorce.

Through the unique process I have developed, my clients develop clarity, confidence, and a defined plan to move forward, no matter which journey they choose to pursue.

That’s OK! While it may make the process a bit lengthier and more difficult, there are laws in place that will provide you with the information. We will work with your attorney to determine the most efficient and low-cost way to obtain the financial information you need to reach a fair divorce settlement.

A divorce mediator is a neutral, trained professional who helps you and your spouse work through divorce decisions in a structured, respectful way, without taking sides or acting as either person’s attorney. The mediator’s role is to guide productive conversations, reduce conflict, and keep the focus on fair solutions that both of you can live with.

In divorce mediation, the mediator facilitates communication and helps you identify the issues that need to be resolved, like property division, debts, child custody and placement schedules, child support, spousal maintenance, and other practical agreements. They keep the process organized by setting an agenda, explaining how mediation works, and making sure each topic is addressed clearly and thoroughly.

A divorce mediator does not give legal advice or make decisions for you. Instead, they help you understand your options, reality-check proposals, and move toward mutually acceptable agreements. Many mediators also encourage informed decision-making by recommending that each spouse consult an independent attorney (outside of sessions) for legal review before anything is finalized.

The mediator’s job is also to create a safe, balanced environment where both people can participate. That means managing emotions, redirecting unproductive conflict, and ensuring each spouse has a voice, especially when conversations feel tense or stuck. The goal is to replace “winning” with problem-solving, so you can make decisions that protect your finances, your future, and (when applicable) your children’s well-being.

If you’re looking for a more affordable, private, and flexible alternative to litigation, divorce mediation can be a strong fit, especially when both spouses are willing to negotiate in good faith. A mediator helps you reach a written agreement more efficiently, often saving time, money, and stress compared to a court-based divorce process.

All states have mandated child support guidelines. Generally speaking, child support is based on these factors:

Divorce FAQ

• Age of the child;
• Physical custody; and
• Income of the payor, or in the case of shared or split custody, both parties.

While there are guidelines in place, determining the amount of child support can get tricky. Actual income, allowable deductions, and a number of other factors must be considered.

In some cases, the guideline amount of child support may not cover all of the child’s actual costs—for instance, medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance, private school , post-secondary education tuition, or extracurricular activities. Speak to your lawyer about the possibility of increasing the guideline amount to cover any special or extraordinary expenses.

The tests for spousal support (also called “maintenance”) are complex and no two cases are the same. You will need to speak to a family law lawyer in order to determine how the specifics of your case may impact your entitlement to receive spousal support. Once entitlement has been established, the factors to be considered to determine the amount and duration are:

• Need. Do you have enough money to live on? This would include income from employment, earnings from investments, and other property.
• Means (ability to pay). Can the payor afford to pay what is needed and still have enough to live on to support a reasonable lifestyle?
• Length of marriage. A short-term marriage, without children, may not qualify for spousal support whereas a long-term marriage (20 years or more) may qualify for indefinite support.
• Age and health of both parties.

Again, no two cases are the same and there are a number of factors that come into play when determining entitlement, amount, and duration. It is always recommended that you seek independent legal advice on this issue.