Very little harmony exists among the few key Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) underwriters. When it comes to insurance contracts in the CDFA E&O marketplace and what they cover, the prudent answer is: “It depends” (the two key words an attorney learns in law school, some say). Though seemingly a deflection, it is truly the only accurate answer.

Then, a colleague of mine (thank you Dwayne Grady!) had the same thing come up in a case that he was working on and his attorney actually gave him a copy of the now-mysterious Brandenburg Formula and he was kind enough to share it with me.

I anxiously openend the file expecting to find advanced mathematical concepts or fancy-shmancy legal jargon….that’s not what I found. It was a simple calculation, spelled out with lots and lots of lawyerly WORDS of THE VERY SAME WAY I HAD ALWAYS DONE MY SEPARATE PROPERTY CALCULATIONS! I laughed out loud!

One thing I have learned about being a CDFA is that the legal system is compelled to use case law to validate every single piece of mathematical common sense that is necessary in the dissolution of a marriage. Think Hugg, Nelson, Harrison calculation, etc. All just named for the court cases where these issues first came up.
So – you probably don’t need it but you can impress your attorney partners if you have it, here’s the magical Brandenburg Formula! Abra Cadabra!