During the course of a family law
matter that involves property and debt division and support,
whether or not it also includes child support, family
support or maintenance, the parties will be required to
file with the Court and exchange with one another a financial
disclosure statement. It is customary and usual to
exchange the underlying proof of the conclusions of asset
values, debt amounts and income amounts. In cases in which
a party will not voluntarily exchange such data, there
are formal mechanisms that the other party may utilize
to obtain the missing financial information. This list
is intended to give you an indication of the type of information
required. Your case may require the gathering of more
or different types of information such as appraisals of
real property, tangible personal property ("stuff")
or intangible personal property (retirement or other financial
assets).
Download A Financial Disclosure Statements
You may download a financial
disclosure statement from this web site. [Get
the form]
Initial Documentation
To prepare the initial documents to file,
you will need the following information:
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Full
names of the parties and children, if any, including
middle names and birth name for any party who changed
his or her name at marriage. |
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Dates
of birth for each party and each child. |
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Social
Security numbers for each party and each child. |
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Date
and place of marriage. |
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Date
of separation, if separated at filing. |
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Addresses
at which each party resides and/or may be served. |
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A
copy of any marital property agreement executed prior
to or during the marriage. |
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The
legal description and tax parcel number for any piece
of real property in which you or the other party has
an interest. Please bring in a copy of the deed and
a copy of the real estate tax bill for each parcel. |
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The
number of marriages for each spouse, whether the marriage
was terminated by divorce, annulment or death, and
if known, the date and place of divorce. |
Prior To First Hearing
The following is a checklist of information
or documents that will be necessary prior to the first hearing:
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Last
two years' state and federal individual income tax returns,
including W-2s and 1099s. |
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Last
two years' state and federal business income tax returns
for a party who has an ownership interest in an LLC,
LLP, closely held corporation, S-Corp, partnership or
other business. |
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Check
stubs or printouts for the last three months. |
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An
explanation of the deductions and withholding other
than federal and state tax, Medicare and Social Security
from your check. Examples of explanations we may need
are the frequency and amount of union dues, moneys that
are withheld due to prior child support orders, money
you have deposited into an account to make your car
payment, charitable donations you have withheld. Determine
whether you are paid once a week, once every other week
(26 times per year), two times per month (24 times per
year) or once a month. |
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Depending
on the county in which your action is pending and depending
on your individual case, there may be other documents
needed. |
Final Agreement
The following is a checklist of information
or documents that may be necessary to complete a final agreement
or to prepare for litigation of certain issues.
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Income
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Additional
tax years of individual income tax and business tax
returns. |
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In
cases in which you will continue health insurance for
your children or spouse, written documentation from
your employer concerning the cost of each type of insurance
offered (medical, dental, eye) for only you, insurance
for you and one or more, or for you and family. |
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Assets
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Most
current statements for bank accounts, retirement accounts,
the January 1 account statement for Wisconsin Retirement
System, military benefits, and the like. |
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A
copy of the deed for each piece of real property in
which you or the other party has an interest. |
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Most
recent appraisals of real property. |
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Trust
documents establishing the gifting or inheritance to
you of real property or tangible or intangible personal
property. |
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The cash value of any life insurance that covers
you, your spouse and your children. You should request
your agent to send you written documentation of the
current face value, the current designated beneficiaries,
any loan balance and the current cash value. |
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Probate
documents establishing the inheritance of real property
or tangible or intangible personal property. |
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List
of savings bonds, with the number of the bond, the date
of maturation and in whose name the bond is. |
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Copies
of appraisals done for insurance purposes (note, such
appraisals are generally not "fair market value"-please
ask about the difference). |
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List
of vehicles. If you have appraisals, a copy of the appraisal.
Otherwise, a beginning place for the determination of
fair market value is kellybluebook.com or Edmunds.com
for third party purchase. See also automobile
valuations. |
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A
list of "toys". Boats, campers, gear of various
kinds, bicycles. This differs widely from person to
person. |
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Debts
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Bankruptcy
petition, schedules and discharge. |
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Copies
of the most current credit card statements. Copies of
all credit card statements if there are issues concerning
the charges of you or the other party. |
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In
some cases, a copy of the loan application for home
mortgages, automobiles, credit card accounts. |
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Certain
releases of information to acquire copies of records
at financial institutions such as banks and companies
which have extended credit. |
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Closing
statements from the purchase or sale of real property. |
Sometimes there is reason to use values
of assets or debt amounts from the time of marriage or time
of separation. You will need to gather your financial statements
and documents that demonstrate the balance on those dates.
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