Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts

Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA™) educates, certifies, and promotes CDFAs and financial professionals in the divorce arena.

The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA™) is the premier national organization dedicated to the certification, education and promotion of the use of financial professionals in the divorce arena. Founded in 1993, IDFA provides specialized training to accounting, financial, and legal professionals in the field of pre-divorce financial planning. Over the years, we have certified more than 5,000 professionals in the US and Canada as Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) professionals.

Worried your spouse might be hiding money? You're not being paranoid.Hidden assets show up more than people expect, and ...
09/10/2026

Worried your spouse might be hiding money? You're not being paranoid.

Hidden assets show up more than people expect, and lately that includes cryptocurrency. It's become one of the easier places to quietly move money if someone's trying to.

The good news: crypto isn't as untraceable as people think. A July 2026 legal update on New York divorce cases confirms courts are actively enforcing new rules that require spouses to disclose crypto, NFTs, and other digital holdings. And a separate July 2026 guide on tracing digital assets notes that tax forms now create a paper trail for exchange transactions too.

If something about your spouse's finances isn't adding up, trust that instinct. A financial professional trained in divorce can help you dig into it properly.

Find a CDFA® professional: https://zurl.co/DvJ73

Source: https://zurl.co/NylG0 ; https://zurl.co/tQIlE

Divorce doesn't come with a rulebook, and most people don't know what questions to ask until it's too late to ask them.I...
09/08/2026

Divorce doesn't come with a rulebook, and most people don't know what questions to ask until it's too late to ask them.

In Episode 19 of the CDFA® Hotline, host Kristen Shearin sits down with Jessica Garcia, MBA, CDFA®, CDC, mediator, and founder of Brainstorming Women, to cover the financial questions nobody thinks to ask before divorce. From getting clear on your goals to organizing your financial picture, building the right support team, and knowing what a fair settlement actually means for you, this episode is packed with the real talk people need before they sign.

Episode 19 is out now!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg_55UlgJKA
Spotify: https://zurl.co/XO8IJ

09/08/2026

Ever wonder what a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® actually does? Watch to find out.

Divorce involves both legal and financial decisions, and understanding how those decisions work together can be overwhelming. A CDFA® professional helps you make sense of the financial side of divorce, evaluate your options, and understand how the decisions you make today could affect your finances over time.

👉 Learn more: https://zurl.co/vpDnb

For federal tax purposes, your marital status is decided on the last day of the year. A divorce that's final on December...
09/07/2026

For federal tax purposes, your marital status is decided on the last day of the year. A divorce that's final on December 30th and one that's final on January 2nd land in completely different tax years, even though they're only days apart.

Kristen Shearin, CDFA®, Executive Director of IDFA®, walks through what that timing can mean for your filing status, your kids' tax benefits, your withholding, and what to gather before the year ends.

👉Read the full blog: https://zurl.co/zrvGD

Happy Labor Day from IDFA®! 🎉
09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day from IDFA®! 🎉

Women who divorce after 50 see their standard of living drop by about 45%. Men see a 21% drop. That's according to resea...
09/03/2026

Women who divorce after 50 see their standard of living drop by about 45%. Men see a 21% drop. That's according to research published in the Journals of Gerontology, and it's exactly why the financial planning around a later-life divorce matters so much more than it did at 30.

You're not alone in facing this. Nearly 40% of U.S. divorces now involve someone over 50, according to data reported by The New York Times and cited in an August 2026 InvestmentNews report on gray divorce. That share has more than doubled since 1990.

That doesn't mean divorce isn't the right choice. It means the financial planning around it matters more than ever.

A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® can help you understand exactly where you'll stand financially, before you make any big decision.

👉 Find a CDFA® Professional: https://zurl.co/ATU4o

Source: InvestmentNews, Aug 5, 2026 - https://zurl.co/TJnnJ (Journals of Gerontology data cited within)

If you got separated over the summer and you're heading into fall wondering what happens next with your finances, you're...
09/02/2026

If you got separated over the summer and you're heading into fall wondering what happens next with your finances, you're on the right track. Most people don't know where to start, and that's normal.

A few things worth figuring out early: what your household budget actually looks like split in two, which accounts and debts are in both names, and what your health insurance situation will look like after everything is finalized.

You don't have to map out the next ten years right now. You just need a clear next step.

A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® can help you build that clarity, one decision at a time.

Find a CDFA® professional: https://zurl.co/rcvC4

08/31/2026

Worried your spouse isn't showing you the whole picture? Start here, before you spend a dollar on anyone. ✏️

Write down every company, address, phone number, and email you know. Dig up old tax returns. Philip Segal says clients who do this often find more than they expect, on their own.

Watch the full episode. 👉 https://zurl.co/V0vtN

Once you sign your divorce settlement, most of it is final. Before that happens, it's worth slowing down and asking a fe...
08/26/2026

Once you sign your divorce settlement, most of it is final. Before that happens, it's worth slowing down and asking a few key questions.

✅Do I understand the tax impact of this settlement, not just the number on paper?
✅Can I actually afford this on my own, month to month, not just today but five years from now?
✅Have I accounted for every asset, including retirement accounts, benefits, and anything that might not show up on a bank statement?

If you're not confident in your answers, that's a sign to bring in help before you sign anything.

A CDFA® professional can walk through these questions with you and make sure the numbers actually hold up.

Find a CDFA® professional: https://zurl.co/W9oum

If you're 50 or older and thinking about divorce, the financial picture looks different than it did for your parents or ...
08/24/2026

If you're 50 or older and thinking about divorce, the financial picture looks different than it did for your parents or even your younger coworkers.

Gray divorce, meaning divorce after 50, now makes up more than a third of all divorces in the U.S. And the math is less forgiving. There's less time to rebuild retirement savings. Health care costs take up a bigger share of the budget. Dividing a home or a pension isn't just about splitting a number, it's about restructuring your entire financial future.

This isn't a reason to panic. It's a reason to get a clear, accurate picture of your finances before you make decisions you can't undo.

A CDFA® professional can help you understand what you actually have, what it's worth after taxes, and what a sustainable settlement looks like for the years ahead.

Find a CDFA® professional: https://zurl.co/80HJJ

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