Seven Sets
of Documents You Need For
Your Divorce
by:
Scott
Morgan
This article is designed
to give someone who is
considering or planning for
the possibility of divorce
an idea of what documents
are needed. Even if you
believe your case is
ultimately agreed to and
settled without a trial, you
will be in a much better
position if you already have
the relevant documents in
your possession. Better safe
than sorry.
You should locate the
relevant documents, make
copies, and keep them
somewhere secure, like your
office or with a friend. You
will then have access when
it is needed.
Here are the most
important seven categories
of documents you should
focus on.
1. Income Documents
Your spouse's income is
relevant to a number of
issues in a divorce case. At
a minimum, get your spouse's
last paycheck statement and
your most recent tax return.
Ideally, you would have
access to all tax returns
filed during the marriage,
along with all supporting
documents and schedules.
2. Bank Records
The monthly bank
statements are very
important and can lead you
to other documents
(cancelled checks, deposit
slips, registers, etc.) that
you also may need to obtain.
Get at least the most recent
statement for each account
that is either held in your
name, your spouse's name, or
jointly. If possible, get
copies of all statements
going back to the date of
marriage. In most cases this
volume of records is not
required, but in some cases
these records can be very
helpful and even necessary
to analyze the case.
3. Retirement and Other
Investment Records
Often the biggest asset a
couple will own will be a
401k or pension account. So
you will definitely want the
most recent account
statement and ideally all
statements dating back to
the time of marriage. Also,
the last statement prior to
marriage can be very
significant (especially in
community property states)
to show the pre-marriage
balance.
4. Credit Card statements
Again the most recent
statements are a necessity,
but a lot of important
evidence can be garnered
from the historical
statements. In some cases,
the credit card statements
will show questionable
transactions that can be of
real evidentiary value. For
example, they might show
evidence of gifts or dinners
purchased for paramours,
questionable hotel rentals,
or other dubious purchases.
5. Real estate documents
The most important real
estate documents are the
Deed of Trust and Warranty
Deed for any property you
currently own. If you have
the entire file from (the
giant stack of paper you got
after the closing) for each
real estate purchase or
refinance transaction during
the marriage it can be
helpful. Additionally,
documents evidencing real
estate owned by either
spouse prior to marriage can
be significant, especially
in community property
states.
6. Mortgage statements &
any Other Debts
You should get the most
recent statements showing
the current payoff balance
for any other debts. For
those debts that have only a
coupon book with no
regularly generated
statements showing the
current balance, you will
probably need to contact the
creditor by phone for the
current payoff information.
7. Relevant emails or
other correspondence
Correspondence or emails
can be extremely helpful (or
damaging, depending on your
viewpoint) pieces of
evidence in the case.
Whether the communication is
between spouses or between a
spouse and some third-party,
the communication is
potentially relevant. Two
common examples would be
where your spouse makes a
damaging admission about
some issue in the case, or
communications with
paramours.
Conclusion
Determining which
documents you need to obtain
for your divorce case can be
a very time-consuming and
daunting task. Use this list
as a starting point and
discuss your situation with
a quality divorce attorney.
This person should be able
to advise you specifically
on the documents you need to
obtain in order to protect
your interests. |
