Give financial information in a family law case
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If your family law case involves money, you'll need to give the judge information about your finances. Do this by filing a Financial Declaration form and proof of your income. You can file paystubs, tax returns, and other personal financial information under a sealed cover sheet to protect your privacy. (Forms and instructions)
Forms
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Financial Declaration of (name): _______________
It’s simple: we ask you questions and use your answers to complete your form.
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Sealed Cover Sheet – Confidential
It’s simple: we ask you questions and use your answers to complete your form.
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Fast facts
A Financial Declaration is a statement about your income, assets, and expenses. It may also include information about the other party's income.
File a Financial Declaration when the judge will be making decisions about money in a family law case. This could be for:
- Child support
- Alimony (called spousal maintenance)
- Dividing property in a divorce
- Fees and costs for the case
You may need to file a Financial Declaration at the beginning of your case, when filing or responding to a motion for temporary orders, or to prepare for trial.
Financial records can help prove to the judge that what you’re saying in your Financial Declaration is true. Local court rules may also require you to file certain kinds of financial records about your income, such as taxes, paystubs, or W-2s.
Usually, you don't have to show proof of your expenses unless the judge or the other party questions them.
If health issues have limited your ability to work, you may want to file health records to prove it.
Both financial and health records have sensitive personal information. You can file those records under a Sealed Cover Sheet to keep them confidential. You can also black out (redact) information that you don't want anyone to see, like your social security number or your address, if it's confidential.
Using a Sealed Cover Sheet keeps your records away from the public. You still must give a copy of anything you file with the court to the person/s on the other side of your case.
It's helpful to have your most recent paystubs, taxes, or benefits statements with you when filling out your Financial Declaration. If your paychecks vary, you may want to add up the past 6 months or a year and calculate the average monthly amount.
You must put how much you spend each month on:
- housing
- utilities
- food
- health care
- transportation
- children’s expenses
- other household and personal expenses.
- debt payments
Have bills or statements handy for reference. It's okay to estimate.
Step-by-step
If you’re filing a Financial Declaration with a motion or other forms, follow the instructions with those forms for making copies and filing and serving all the papers together. If you’re just filing the Financial Declaration and proof of income or health records, follow these steps:
Fill out and sign the Financial Declaration (and Sealed Cover Sheet, if needed). You can fill out the forms online or print them. If you're filing any health records or proof of income, number each page and attach them to the Sealed Cover Sheet. Check the boxes on the Sealed Cover Sheet that describe the documents you're attaching.
Make at least 2 copies of your completed forms and any attachments. Make more if needed. You’ll need one copy for yourself, plus one for each other party to the case. Sometimes you need an extra copy for the judge.
File your papers with the court clerk.
Arrange to mail or deliver the papers to the other parties. Have your server fill out a Proof of Mailing and Hand Delivery.
Deliver a set of working copies to the judge, if needed.
File Proof of Mailing and Hand Delivery with the court clerk.