Before I became a
judge, I was introduced to a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™. I was initially skeptical of the value added that
could be derived from such a person's involvement in the divorce process. I assumed the practice was a fancy name for what
we family practitioners did. Was this another encroachment against the practice of law by a non-lawyer?
Yet, here was a well spoken and
motivated professional, laptop in tow, talking about financial considerations surrounding property divisions, spousal support,
and debt retirement. CDFA's, I found, operate within a happy amalgam of accounting financial planning, sociology, and economics
that they tailored to the case at hand. I was able to ascertain much more clearly the interdependence between property distribution
and spousal support, and how shifting strategies would be my client's immediate needs, while offering some kind of reasonable
projection of the financial situation of the parties many years down the line.
Now that I am on the bench, with
a thousand-case caseload, I am rushed. I am precluded from spending the hours with the parties, with their lawyers, and with
experts. The time constraints occasioned by my caseload limit me to rendering decisions based on the information I've given
by the lawyers, who present a snapshot of the parties' present situation with their trial briefs, in court testimony, and
closing arguments. Using nonlegal disciplines, a CDFA™ 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.
In a recent case, I had requested
trial briefs analyzing the parties' respective financial and legal positions relative to the factors that I must consider
in my state. What I received were perfunctory briefs that outlined basic facts and provided minimal financial information.
The proofs at trial were equally empty and perfunctory. I was left as always to make my decision upon what I had before me.
What was lacking was a great deal of "nonlegal" information I would've liked to have had from other disciplines.
In this matter, testimony from a CDFA™ to make a more sound and expert decision. Also it would have enlightened and
educated the parties as to the long-term impact of their financial futures.
The Hon. Catherine M. McCarthy
(Note: this is redacted from an article that she wrote.)
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