The Alignment Series™ — Continuing Education for Family Law Professionals
Continuing education for the professionals divorce housing decisions depend on. Approved CLE for attorneys, CME for mediators, CE for financial professionals, and CJE for judicial officers — on the intersection of divorce, real property, and mortgage financing.
Why this program exists
Divorce settlements fail when legal, financial, and lending realities aren’t aligned.
Most divorce work happens in disciplines that don’t talk to each other. Attorneys draft settlement language. Mediators facilitate the agreement. Financial neutrals model the cash flow. Judges sign the order. The lender evaluates feasibility — usually last, often after the agreement is already final.
When those evaluations don’t align, the refinance fails. The assumption falls through. The buyout the equity won’t support gets signed anyway. The client loses the home a year later. The professionals who advised the settlement get the calls.
The Alignment Series™ is the continuing education program built around the work of aligning those evaluations before the settlement is final. It exists to give every professional whose work shapes the marital home decision the lender-side training that makes the rest of the work hold.
Who the program serves
Four audiences. One discipline.
Every Alignment Series session is structured to deliver continuing education credit appropriate to the audience — while remaining grounded in a shared body of knowledge: the discipline of Divorce Mortgage Planning, developed by the Divorce Lending Association and taught nowhere else at this depth.
CLE
Family Law Attorneys
Continuing Legal EducationSettlement language grounded in lender reality. Drafting that survives refinance, assumption, and post-decree execution. The lender-side training family law attorneys almost never receive in law school or general CLE.
CME
Mediators
Continuing Mediator EducationThe financial and lending realities that shape what is actually negotiable in a divorce involving a marital home. Tools to keep emotional positions and lender-side feasibility from diverging in the room.
CE
Financial Professionals
CFP® & CDFA® Continuing EducationHow mortgage qualification, support income treatment, and debt allocation reshape cash flow modeling and equity reconciliation in divorce. Practical integration with the work CFP® and CDFA® professionals already do.
CJE
Judicial Officers
Continuing Judicial EducationReading the mortgage in a decree. Understanding lender-side realities that shape whether court orders are executable. The framework judicial officers need when divorce orders depend on real property and mortgage outcomes.
How accreditation works
Three program tiers. Clear about what’s approved, where.
Every state’s continuing education board operates independently. There is no national CLE accreditation. Some providers describe their programming as “nationally available” without clarifying that the burden of applying for credit falls on the attendee. The Alignment Series is built around the opposite principle: we tell you in advance, in writing, what credit is approved and where.
1
Tier 1
Approved CLE / CME / CE / CJE
Programs that DLA has obtained state-level (or designation-level) approval for. Each session page lists the specific approving states and credentialing bodies, the provider number where applicable, and the credit hours granted. No self-application required.
2
Tier 2
Self-Application Eligible
Programs that meet substantive continuing education standards but have not been pre-approved in every state or with every credentialing body. Attendees in non-approved jurisdictions may apply for credit through their own state board or credentialing organization. A certificate of completion, learning objectives, and program materials are provided to support self-application.
3
Tier 3
Professional Education
Substantive programming for divorce professionals that is not framed as continuing education credit at all. Open to attorneys, mediators, financial professionals, judicial officers, and other professionals who work with divorcing households. Designed for depth and applicability, not credit accumulation.
DLA invests in actual state-level and designation-level approval — not the self-applied national model some competing programs rely on. The credit you earn through a Tier 1 Alignment Series program is approved at the provider level, not credit you carry to your own state to argue for after the fact.
What the program covers
The substance of divorce mortgage planning — in working detail.
Each Alignment Series program addresses a specific intersection of divorce, real property, and mortgage financing. Programs are organized around the same four-phase analytical framework taught in the CDLP® designation: Mortgage Capacity Mapping™.
Property Feasibility Analysis™
What lender guidelines actually support when one spouse is awarded the home — and when they don’t.
Income Qualification Structuring™
How support income, employment changes, and self-employment complexity reshape qualification under current lending rules.
Debt Allocation Impact Modeling™
Indemnification language, equalization payments, and the math of debt-to-income under the loan the court order assumes.
Equity & Cash Flow Solutions Engineering™
Buyout structures, refinance pathways, sale-proceeds planning, and the architecture of a settlement the lender can execute.
State-Specific Rules
Community property vs. equitable distribution, owelty liens, homestead protections, property tax uncapping, and other rules that change the math.
Reverse Mortgage in Divorce
HECM, proprietary, reverse purchase, and reverse HELOC strategies as alternatives or complements in age-eligible cases.
Settlement Drafting Standards
The language that makes refinance, assumption, and buyout obligations executable rather than aspirational.
Post-Decree Execution
What goes wrong between signing and closing — and how the divorce team can address it before it’s too late.
Upcoming sessionsCLE / CECLE / CMECLE / CMECLE / CE
The current Alignment Series calendar.
All sessions are delivered live virtually unless otherwise noted, with recordings available to registered attendees. Credit type and approved jurisdictions are listed for each session.
10 Jun
Before the House Becomes a Court Order: A DMPR Walk-Through for Family Law Professionals
Click here to register ›08 Jul
Divorce Mortgage Planning — the Road to Resolution: Settlement Contingency Language for the House and Mortgage
12 Aug
Title Mapping in Divorce: Vesting, Transfer, and the Path to Refinance
09 Sep
Support Income and Mortgage Qualification: A Cross-Disciplinary Workshop for Family Law and Financial Professionals
The continuing education program of the organization that created the discipline.
Common questions
Questions professionals ask before registering.
Will the credit I earn count in my state?
Yes — if the session is Tier 1 in your jurisdiction. Each session page lists the specific approving states. For Tier 2 sessions, the program meets substantive standards and a certificate of completion and program materials are provided to support self-application through your state board.
Are recordings available?
Registered attendees receive access to recordings. Whether recordings qualify for credit varies by state and credit type — some jurisdictions require live attendance for credit, others accept recorded participation. Each session page specifies the credit rules for that program.
Is the program only for CDLPs®?
No. The Alignment Series is built for the professionals who work alongside CDLPs® — family law attorneys, mediators, judicial officers, and financial professionals. CDLPs® are welcome to attend, but the program is designed for the broader professional network whose work intersects with the marital home in divorce.
Can I propose a topic or speak at a session?
Yes. The Alignment Series accepts topic and speaker submissions from qualified professionals on a rolling basis. Submissions go through DLA’s editorial review to ensure content meets the program’s standard of rigor and substantive accuracy. Contact alignment@divorcelendingassociation.com to propose a session.
What does it cost?
Pricing varies by program type, credit hours, and audience. Individual session pricing is listed on each session page. Annual subscription pricing for unlimited Alignment Series access is available for professionals who attend multiple programs per year. Contact us for institutional or firm-wide registration options.
Join the next sessionThe Alignment Series™ runs monthly. Reserve your seat.
Sessions are delivered live virtually and approved for continuing education credit in specified jurisdictions. Registration is straightforward and confirmation includes complete credit and accreditation detail.
View Upcoming Sessions ›