What Is the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA)?
The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA) is a corporation devoted to educating financial execs about explicit issues in terms of divorce. The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts certifies individuals who whole its modular be told program, which highlights divorce tax law and asset distribution.
Other people going via a divorce can contact the IDFA, which is able to be in agreement them find a suitable agent to be in agreement them via divorce court docket instances.
Key Takeaways
- The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA) educates financial execs about issues related to divorce.
- The IDFA trains certified divorce financial analysts (CDFAs) in divorce settlement tax consequences and asset distribution.
- CDFAs can also act as divorce settlement mediators and experts for a client’s legal professional.
- CDFAs accumulate and analyze a client’s financial data, making ideas to the client about budgeting, surroundings retirement objectives, and understanding investment likelihood levels.
- To earn the CDFA designation, candidates should meet the should haves established by the use of the IDFA and pass an exam.
Working out the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA)
The IDFA trains certified divorce financial analysts, or CDFAs, who be in agreement enhance the divorce process. The ones analysts are schooled throughout the various tax consequences that finish end result from divorce settlements and can be in agreement with equitable asset distribution of the divorcing couple’s property and assets. The CDFA can also act as a consultant for a client’s legal professional or serve as a mediator throughout the settlement court docket instances.
A licensed divorce financial analyst (CDFA) is not a legal professional and would possibly not provide felony advice. CDFAs do not exchange legal professionals in a divorce case alternatively restrict their art work to the financial analysis related to divorce.
IDFAÂ Movements
The IDFA calls itself “the authority on divorce planning concept and application in North The U.S.. IDFA will decide necessities for certification of divorce financial analysts which may also be purpose, loyal, and meet the prevailing benchmarks for certifying our our bodies. The IDFA helps to ensure the financial neatly being and welfare of the divorcing public during the accreditation of other people as Certified Divorce Financial Analysts.”
Practitioners with the certification have an understanding of the momentary and long-term result of dividing property, analyzing pensions and retirement plans, understanding if the client can have the funds for the marital area, and if now not, what they are able to have the funds for, along with recognizing the tax consequences of quite a lot of settlement proposals.
A large number of the location involves accumulating the client’s financial data and showing analysis, then presenting different eventualities and talking during the patron’s budget and expenses. They be in agreement consumers accumulate financial and expense data, decide their long term financial objectives, make the inexpensive, set retirement objectives, make a decision how so much likelihood they are willing to take with their investments, and be in agreement decide what kind of way of living they would really like.
In step with a 2020 report from the Census Bureau, the U.S. divorce price fell from 9.7 new divorces in step with 1,000 women age 15 and over in 2009 to 7.6 in 2019.
Must haves for CDFA Designation
To understand the CDFA designation, candidates should have at least 3 years {{of professional}} experience and a bachelor’s degree. If the candidate does now not have a bachelor’s degree, 5 years of linked experience are required.
Experience comprises working in financial planning or family law apply, or experience should include 3 or additional throughout the following areas:
- Tax code
- Investment advisory or keep an eye on
- Exact assets, mortgage lending, and reverse mortgages
- Financial therapist or instructor
- Life and disability insurance policy
CDFA Examination
To earn the CDFA designation, candidates should pass an exam consisting of 150 multiple-choice questions. Candidates will have 4 hours to take the exam and should pass with a ranking of 75% or higher.
The IDFA provides 4 methods for CDFA candidates to earn their designation: self-study, self-paced eLearning, virtual lecture room, or exam most effective. The IDFA designed the program to be completed in 12 months, even supposing most candidates whole it in 3 to 4 months.
To pass the exam, candidates should be told plenty of topics covering the financial facets of divorce. The ones topics include an overview of divorce laws and procedures, marital property, fundamentals of spousal and child enhance, and tax issues related to selling and moving property.
To retain the CDFA designation after successfully passing the exam, holders should keep in very good standing with the IDFA, pay an annual renewal worth, and procure 30 divorce-related hours of continuing training each two years. The self-study trail has been licensed by the use of the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) board and qualifies for 20.5 hours of CFP board credit score rating.
