If you have hired our firm to work on your divorce, custody, modification, temporary separation, separate maintenance, child support, or alimony case, you will be required by the Court to prepare a financial declaration. Our firm will walk you through the process by ensuring that you know what needs to be provided and by helping you organize it so it is presentable to the opposing party and the Court. To prepare your financial declaration, and once we instruct you to do so, you must send our firm the following documents:
- A completed and signed financial declaration form, which our firm will help you prepare.
- Copies of statements that are reasonably available to the party verifying the items and amounts listed on the financial declaration form.
- Copies for the two tax years before the petition was filed, complete federal state income tax returns, including W-2 forms and supporting tax schedules and attachments, filed on or on behalf of the party or by or on behalf of any entity in which the party has a majority or controlling interest, including but not limited to form 1099 and form k-1.
- Pay stubs and other evidence of all earned and unearned income for the last 12 months before the petition was filed.
- All loan applications and financial statements prepared by or used by the party within the 12 months before the petition was filed.
- Documents verifying the value of all real estate in which the party has an interest, including, but not limited to, the most recent appraisal, tax valuation and refinance documents.
- All statements for the 3 months before the petition was filed for all financial accounts, including, but not limited to, checking, savings, money market funds, certificates of deposit, brokerage, investment, retirement, regardless of whether the account has been closed including those held in that party’s name, jointly with another person or entity, or as a trustee or guardian, or in someone else’s name on that party’s behalf.
If any of these documents are not reasonably available or are in the other party’s possession, the party completing the financial declaration form must estimate the amounts entered and explain the basis for the estimate and why the documents are not available.
IMPORTANT: Failure to fully disclose accurate information may lead to unnecessary litigation and sanctions. The Court has the authority to award the other party non-disclosed assets, attorney’s fees, and other sanctions. Our firm seeks to assist clients to make full and timely disclosures to avoid unnecessary expense and losses.