Essential Documents To Prepare During Divorce

Divorce is a process that takes time and careful planning. A necessary step, and one that will continue throughout your divorce, is to organize a number of important documents. These records will help protect your rights and interests while keeping you prepared for the various stages of litigation and settlement discussions. When you work with the legal team at Aiello & DiFalco LLP, you can move forward in your divorce with confidence.

Marriage and Personal Information

You should begin your document collection with records pertaining to your marriage and personal information (as well as your spouse’s personal information, if you have it). These are some examples:

• Marriage license
• Prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
• Estate planning documents (e.g. last will and testament)
• Life insurance policies
• Credit reports
• A list of your passwords
• Social Security cards
• Passports

One reason you will need to have these is to ensure the veracity of documents you eventually receive from your spouse through discovery. For instance, you will want to prove that any financial or tax documents you get are accurate.

Financial and Property Information

Now that you have the basics out of the way, it’s time to move on to the more complicated documents. You will need these not only for court proceedings pertaining to alimony and child support, but also if you negotiate a settlement agreement in mediation:

• Tax returns and statements: Try to obtain the last several years of tax records, and update them if your divorce goes through tax season and you receive additional documents.
• Bank and credit statements: These should include checking accounts, savings accounts, credit card accounts, loan statements, and other bank records.
• Stock and investment statements: Gather any documents pertaining to investments, including but not limited to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cryptocurrency holdings.
• Property deeds and titles: Real and personal property is included here, such as houses, real estate, vehicles, boats, and other tangible assets.
• Retirement accounts: Anything related to your or your spouse’s retirement (e.g. 401(k)s, pensions, and IRAs) will prove important to your divorce.
• Debts: Medical bills, consumer debts, student loans, and other liabilities will have to be taken into account in dividing property and awarding alimony.
• Ongoing bills: In addition, you should obtain copies of your ongoing bills such as mortgage payments, utilities, insurance, and the like.
• Income statements: Finally, document your income and your spouse’s income if you can, including bonuses, by making copies of pay stubs.

Children’s Records

If you have children, you should begin preparing everything you can related to their health, education, and more. For instance, you can collect their:

• School and extracurricular records
• Daily and weekly schedules
• Health insurance and copays
• Special needs costs
• Ongoing expenses

If you are currently separated and are sharing child custody, document how many overnights your children spend with you versus your spouse. Any incidental costs, for instance related to the child’s transportation between you and the other parent, should also be documented.

Court and Police Documents

You may have already been involved in the court system by the time you are ready to work on your divorce. For instance, some spouses file an Action for Separation, which is akin to legal separation in New York. Or, if there are domestic violence allegations, there may be a court order in place limiting your or your spouse’s contact with each other. You may also have police reports and other documents concerning you, your spouse, or your children.

Get Started With Experienced Legal Counsel

Collecting documents related to your divorce will require time and patience, especially because the records you need will change as the process moves forward. One of the best steps you can take is to hire legal counsel early so you can adapt to the unique dynamics of your own case. Aiello & DiFalco LLP can assist. Give our firm a call to get started today.