Documents to Gather For Divorce – The Checklist

In order to complete specific filing requirements of the court with regard to your income, expenses, assets and debts, to facilitate settlement discussions and to assist your attorney in the efficient handling of your case, you should really try to compile the following documents:

• Complete personal (and corporate where suitable) income tax returns for the past five years;
• Documents showing your income for this year (and for last year if no tax returns have been filed), which includes but not limited to: W-2 forms, 1099 forms, interest and dividend income, and paycheck stubs covering the most recent three (three) months;
• As to all real estate owned by you and/or your spouse:
• The deed conveying title;
• The promissory note;
• The mortgage or deed of trust;
• The payment coupon or invoice for your most recent mortgage payment;
• A statement from the lender of the balance due on the mortgage;
• Any appraisals conducted with regard to the residence;
• The most recent residence tax bill;

• As to any motor vehicles:

• The title to the motor vehicle;
• The promissory note if the motor vehicle is encumbered;
• The payment coupon or invoice for your most recent payment;
• The most recent residence tax bill;
• Your statement as to the mileage and condition of the vehicle;

• As to any life insurance policies, a copy of the policy, or a copy of a policy summary or other document that will show:

• The name and address of the insurance corporation;
• The policy number;
• The owner of the policy;
• The beneficiary;
• The quantity of the death benefit;
• The money value, if any;
• The quantity of the premium;

• As to any health insurance policies out there to you, a copy of the plan summary, or other document which will show:

• The name and address of the health insurance business;
• The policy number, group number and/or ID number;
• The beneficiaries of the policy;
• A summary of the advantages, such as co-pay and deductible amounts;

• As to any financial accounts, such as but not limited to checking, savings, certificates of deposit, IRA, 401k, or publicly or privately traded securities or stock accounts, documents which will show:

• The name and address of the institution;
• The account number;
• The owner of the account;
• The identity of any person authorized to sign checks or access the accounts;
• The present balance of the account;
• Copies of quarterly statements for the past year, 
• and monthly statements for the past six months;

• As to any company in which you have an ownership interest, offer copies of:

• Articles of Incorporation; 
• By-laws;
• Stock certificates, which includes any restrictions on transfer;
• Buy-sell agreements;
• Year-end financial statements for prior calendar or fiscal year;
• Most recent balance sheet and/or profit and loss statement;
• Most recent tax returns;

• As to debts, supply copies of:

  • Promissory notes;
  • The most recent payment coupon or invoice;
  • For credit cards, the most recent three months of credit card statements.

This may possibly appear like overkill – and in a lot of situations, it most likely is – but if you use this as your beginning point, you’re unlikely to forget to follow up on any specific piece of marital home.  If you are able to track a very good portion of this facts down (either at the bank or in your property office or laptop or computer files), you will save weeks or months of attorney work down the road.  You and your attorney will be in a superior position to talk intelligently about what you can anticipate to settle the case for or obtain after trial. 

Some of this information and facts may perhaps not be obtainable to you at this time.  It can all be requested from your spouse and his or her attorney at a later date.  It is extremely probable that they will be needed to disclose the documents to you by the court.  So don’t worry too a lot if you can’t compile it all now.  Just do your very best and you’ll be in a superior beginning position than you otherwise would have.

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