Even if you and your spouse agree to split amicably, divorce can still be stressful and time-consuming. Add in factors like shared assets, debt, and child custody, which becomes much more complicated. Legal experts recommend being prepared to avoid feeling overwhelmed and ensuring the process goes smoothly.
If you’ve decided to get a divorce, it’s best to gather important documents before meeting your attorney. These documents give your divorce lawyer every financial detail about your marriage. Keeping them organized helps you during the negotiation stage and makes you feel more confident.
Documents To Organize For The Divorce Process
Have the following documents organized and ready when you consult your divorce attorney.
Pay Stubs and Income Tax Returns
When you file for divorce, the court needs to know your financial condition to decide on things like asset division, alimony, and child support. Remember that if you have any side jobs to bring in additional income, whether it’s commission-based or through tips, you should also document them.
- Prepare pay stubs from all your jobs over the past year
- Provide your spouse’s pay stubs for the past year
- If you’re a business owner or self-employed, you’ll need to provide business forms, income tax returns, and similar documents to prove self-reported income. If you or your spouse had a financial interest in any business over the last three years, you should provide related documents.
- If you or your spouse runs a business, provide records of business expenses, such as profit-loss statements, payment receipts, bank statements, and more.
- State and federal tax return documents, either joint or individual, for the past three years
- Copies of financial statements that mention your net worth, compiled for purposes such as applying for a loan
Real Estate Deeds
Any property you and your spouse purchased while married is marital property, so it’ll be split up during the divorce. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can conceal information regarding real estate owned separately. You have to provide documents for these properties to your divorce lawyer if you used marital funds to make mortgage payments or pay for repairs.
- Documents detailing the purchase of real estate
- Refinancing documents
- Tax assessments for all real estate
- Documents detailing legal descriptions of real estate, whether they’re jointly owned jointly or separately
- All mortgage statements, both old and current
Bank Statements And Others
In addition to income information, the court requires documents for joint and separate financial accounts. You and your spouse must disclose all assets and any account you open during the marriage will be considered marital property. Therefore, it will be assessed as well.
- The last three years’ worth of bank statements for any account held jointly or separately
- Joint and/or individual investment account statements
- Savings certificates for joint and individual accounts
Vehicle Titles
Your vehicles are also marital assets and will be appraised by the court for a fair division. You and your spouse must disclose all vehicles owned jointly or individually. The court will determine which of these are marital assets.
Provide your family attorney with a copy of the registration or title for all vehicles. This is irrespective of whether you or your spouse own the vehicle jointly or individually. Besides automobiles, this includes other vehicles such as snowmobiles, boats, and farming equipment.
If you took out any loans to purchase the vehicles, you’ll need to provide your divorce attorney with documents detailing the outstanding balance on these loans. These can include monthly invoices, amortization schedules, or payment coupons.
Documents Regarding Debts
Just as you and your spouse must disclose your assets to your divorce lawyers, you need to document any debt accumulated over your marriage. If you or your spouse took out any loans, you’ll need to disclose them. The divorce court determines which of these are marital debts before dividing them accordingly.
You should prepare a list of any current unsecured debts in your or your spouse’s name. This can include unpaid medical bills, credit card payments, and other such loans.
Life Insurance Policy Statements
If you and your spouse have life insurance policies, they’re considered marital property as well. The court may order a beneficiary change as a way to keep a backup for child support or divide the cash value of the policy.
Make sure to organize documents for you, your spouse’s, and your children’s life insurance policies. This is regardless of whether you signed up for an individual policy or it’s provided by your employer. It will include documents detailing loans or a cash balance against the life insurance policies.
Pension Fund Statements
You should disclose retirement assets like pension funds if you and your spouse have them. It’s so that the court can determine how they’ll be divided during the property settlement process.
Any contributions you make toward a pension fund will be regarded as marital property, so any interest gained will be a spousal benefit. Make sure to keep a copy of any recent statements for IRAs, 401(k) plans, retirement funds, or pension funds.
FAQs
Here are some commonly asked questions about the divorce process.
How much does a divorce cost?
Most divorces cost around $7,000, which is the median. However, the average is much higher, ranging between $15,000 and $20,000. Of course, you’ll need to consider whether it’s a contested or uncontested divorce, the latter of which costs much less.
How long does a divorce take?
How long your divorce process takes ultimately depends on whether you have a contested or uncontested divorce. Most divorces in the US take about a year to settle, especially if they’re contested. If you have children, numerous assets, and disagreements with your spouse, you can expect it to take longer. But if the divorce is uncontested, it only takes a few months to finalize the process.
How much does a divorce lawyer cost?
According to a national survey, people who hired a divorce lawyer reported that they paid a divorce attorney about $270 per hour. And in a separate survey on the hourly rates of family lawyers, results showed that they charge from $200 to over $300 per hour. This goes even higher for highly experienced family law lawyers in upscale areas.