Financial Declarations in Family Law Cases

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WHAT IS A FINANCIAL DECLARATION?

In Family Law cases, the parties have to submit to each other a document called a Financial Declaration (click here to see a copy of one). Financial Declarations are necessary for domestic relations actions that involve child support, alimony, property distribution, or debt division. Under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26.1., if the respondent to a case files an answer, each party must disclose to the other evidence of the party’s income, assets, debts, and expenses, using a fully completed court-approved Financial Declaration form and attachments. However, if the respondent to a case does not file an answer, the parties do not need to disclose to each other the Financial Declaration form and attachments. The domestic relations actions that require a Financial Declaration form are:

• divorce;
• temporary separation;
• separate maintenance;
• parentage;
• child custody;
• child support, and
• modification of a domestic relations order.

HOW TO COMPLETE A FINANCIAL DECLARATION

If you need to complete a Financial Declaration, our team of professional paralegals can help you. We will walk you through each step of the Financial Declaration and answer any questions you may have.

Filling Out Your Financial Declaration

To complete your Financial Declarations, you will need to provide:

1. your employment information, including your income and the type of employee you are (hourly, salaried, self-employed, etc.);
2. your total gross monthly income, considering all the forms of income detailed in the Financial Declaration form (such as work income, rental income, business income, interest, dividends, etc.);
3. your monthly tax deductions, including proof of the amounts listed (such as pay stubs that detail your monthly tax deductions);
4. your after-tax income (your total gross monthly income minus your monthly tax liabilities);
5. your monthly expenses in all the areas provided for in the Financial Declaration form (such as rent, mortgage, food, and household supplies, etc.), including proof of expenses such as receipts, invoices, bills, etc.;
6. your business interests, if any, including the business name, address and phone number, nature of business, and the current value of the business;
7. all your financial assets, which include checking accounts, savings accounts, retirement accounts, cash, etc.;
8. information regarding your real estate, if any, including the address, date acquired, names on title, mortgage or lien holder name, total amount owed, monthly payments, etc.;
9. a list of all your personal property, including information such as property description, debts owed to for the property (if any), names on the title (if applicable), the amount owed on the property (if any), and minimum monthly payments on the property (if any); and
10. a list of all debts owed, if any, including information regarding the type of debt, who the debt is owed to, names on the debt, the total amount owed on the debt, and the minimum required monthly payments on the debt.

Documents Required in a Financial Declaration

Apart from filling the Financial Declarations form out, you also need to provide specific documents. These documents include (i) copies of your last two years’ tax returns; (ii) copies of your pay stubs or other proof of income; (iii) copies of any loan applications; (iv) copies of real estate documents verifying the value of the real estate listed in the Financial Declaration; and (v) copies of the last three months’ worth of financial statements for all your financial accounts.

Submitting your Financial Declaration

Unless a hearing about child support, spousal support, property, debts, attorney fees, and court costs is scheduled, or unless the court orders you to, you do not need to file your Financial Declaration with the court; you only have to serve it on the opposing party within the deadline set by the court. You do, however, need to file a Certificate of Service with the court, certifying that you served your Financial Declaration upon the other party.

HOW WE CAN HELP

Filling out a Financial Declaration form can be challenging if you do not know what you are doing. Let our team of professional paralegals take the stress away. We can fill out and prepare your Financial Declarations to serve upon the opposing party in your case. We have the skills and experience necessary to accomplish the task quickly and effectively.

HIGH-QUALITY LEGAL WRITING

Our staff of professional paralegals is made up of professional legal writers experienced with drafting legal documents in Family Law cases. We can assist you with drafting and filling out your Financial Declaration and more. We always strive to provide impeccable legal writing with proper grammar, punctuation, structure, and flow, free of errors, and with strict adherence to the correct system of legal citation. By hiring us, you can ensure that your legal documents are well-written, well-presented, and well-formatted. Please click here to see our writing samples.