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.
