When two people who have once claimed their love for each other decide to sever their marital ties and go their separate ways, they are very likely to be at their worst. They go by their gut and thus often act on the spur of the moment. Due to this, either one or both sides take defensive actions to protect their assets, especially if the fact that their soon-to-be ex-partner can recover and share their money earned by the sweat of their brow goads them into fury. This also applies to an inheritance or something gifted by someone, a business ran by one of the sides or sort of an improvement in their financial shape that they don’t feel like sharing with anybody.
Main Reasons to Provide This Statement
If you are going to draft legal divorce documents on the Internet, get engaged with a contested case, or separate from your better half legally, there is no way you can go without providing the statement. This means that you must disclose your financial situation fully and honestly. Since it is a continuing obligation, along with other Louisiana court divorce forms, you have to produce updated information about your finances throughout the entire process.
Probably, you feel like your soon-to-be ex-spouse is trying to play hankey-pankey with you or simply refuses to provide relevant evidence. Of course, there may be a lot of reasons why another party doesn’t want to disclose any evidence, from believing that his or her business or inheritance is only theirs and nobody else’s and that he or she has a savings account opened in a sole name. However, no financial settlement can be drafted until both parties disclose their situation.
By doing so, you can be sure that your lawyer is aware of your financial situation and your spouse’s assets so that he or she can help you reach a fair settlement, as well as ensure that nobody hides anything. Remember that while some spouses fail to disclose some of their assets by mistake, some do this on purpose to undervalue their financial shape.
Also, you should never forget that what you provide in this document and how may affect lots of divorce-related matters, including child custody, property division, alimony, etc., and thus you should do your best to prepare this doc with a great concern for accuracy.
How You Can Disclose Your Finances
You can disclose your funds either via a solicitor or mediator. If any party doesn’t feel like providing this sort of information, then it is likely to face financial sanctions imposed by a judge. Be ready to provide property valuations, mortgage statements, information about your bank accounts and invested money, documentary evidence of your business assets, the recent statement of a CEV, and evidence of your wage slips, divided payments, rental income, and state pensions. Don’t forget to include a copy of your tax returns for the last two years.
No matter whether or not you are going to file divorce papers online, you should probably seek divorce help, especially if you have a bad understanding of personal finances. Any lawyer would tell you that sometimes, it makes sense to get a financial adviser who can give you a piece of advice regarding your particular situation. If you own a business, then think about hiring a business assessor who will help you assess the value of your company properly.
Remember that even if you or your “almost” ex are not willing to produce any evidence of your assets and you two are completely fine with that, you will be required to draft and provide at least basic disclosure, which should include everything related to your property value, capital, liabilities, and pensions.
If one party fails to provide a complete paper containing only comprehensive, yet truthful financial data, another party has a right to apply to a court with the claim to return to the matter at a later date. As a result, an unfair party is very likely to face a financial penalty. However, if it was a mutual decision to not to produce any statement, then the chances are very slim that the matter will be re-opened anytime in the future.
