Assets (Before and After Marriage)

Assets are things you own, like bank accounts and furniture, for example. Here is a list of the records and documents you should try to obtain to identify and value your assets:

• Bank accounts: Collect copies of recent bank statements. If you are using these to determine income or expenses, or if you have questions about deposits or withdrawals, you will need more than just the recent ones. Keep updating these as well as other monthly statements available for assets during the course of your divorce.
• Real estate: Try to find a copy of your deed(s) if you own real estate. This will show how the property is owned. Also, look for the settlement papers (especially the HUD 1 form you signed at closing, which details the down payment, closing costs, and loan information). Find copies of any appraisals and real estate tax bills. Locate copies of the mortgages and home equity line of credit and recent statements for these. If you own rental properties, obtain copies of the leases and transaction record for the income and expenses of the leased property.
• Retirement funds: Locate statements from IRAs; 401(k)s; Civil Service Retirement System, or Federal Employees Retirement System; and Thrift Savings Plan statements for federal government workers, annuities, or other retirement funds. If you have a copy of the plan documents or the summary plan description, so much the better.
• Insurance policies: Find copies of the policies for life insurance, medical insurance, health insurance, and home owners’ insurance. Life insurance has both a face value (the amount of the death benefit) and cash value (how much you can surrender it for now). Find out both values.
• Safes and safe deposit boxes: If you have access to a safe or safe deposit box, inventory the contents. Take pictures or make a video.
• Stocks and bonds: Look for copies of current statements for stocks, bonds, and certificates of deposit from stockbrokers, banks, or other financial institutions.
• Business interests: Look for evidence of any business interests, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, or professional corporations. This includes partnership agreements, corporate records, business bank accounts, ledgers, and checkbooks.
• Inheritance or trust interests: Look for bank records, trust agreements, copies of wills, and codicils.
• Automobiles and other vehicles: Find titles and loan documents for all automobiles, motorcycles, trailers, motor homes, and boats. Make a copy of any appraisals you may have for vintage automobiles.
• Jewelry: Collect any appraisals and receipts or credit card statements showing the purchase of jewelry.
• Collections: Try to find appraisals for coin, stamp, art, or other collections.
• Furnishings: Gather any receipts you can find for carpets, draperies, and other furnishings in your home.
• Furniture: Obtain receipts for furniture in your home.
• Country club memberships, credit card reward points, frequent flyer miles: Find any information available on country club memberships or credit card reward points for frequent flyer miles.
• Time-shares: Find agreements and any related correspondence on any time-shares you may own.
• Tax benefits: Obtain copies of your tax returns. You can order these from the IRS if you don’t have copies. Your attorney or accountant may also be able to tell you if there are any other assets you don’t know about by looking at your tax returns. There are certain tax items that can have value and be carried over from year to year. For example, losses that cannot be deducted in the current year may be used to offset income in future years

Note that assets can be considered marital property that the divorce court can distribute between spouses. Or they can be considered separate nonmarital property, which the divorce court cannot divide. Property you brought into the marriage, for example, is your separate property as long as you haven’t made it into, or mixed it up with, marital property. Property acquired during the marriage, with a few exceptions, is marital property. Some property can be part marital and part nonmarital. For example, a pension plan started before the marriage and contributed to during the marriage will be considered part marital and part nonmarital property. In such cases, you will have to find historical statements showing the dates and amounts of your contributions if you want to be able to keep the nonmarital portion of the property.

Liabilities (Before and After Marriage)

Liabilities refer to things you owe payments on, like student loans or credit cards. You can order your credit report for free from one of the three reporting agencies, and that will give you a starting point from which to go over your debts. Here are other documents you want to find to identify and value your liabilities:

• Promissory notes secured for real estate: Look for copies of mortgages, mortgage statements, home equity lines of credit, and business loans secured for obtaining real estate.
• Bank loans: Find promissory notes and statements for bank loans if you can.
• Student loans: Gather all documents related to student loans, including promissory notes and statements.
• Loans from friends and relatives: If you have borrowed or intend to borrow money from friends or relatives for living expenses or legal fees during your divorce, be sure to document the loan in writing with a promissory note signed by you. Blank forms are available cheaply at most office supply stores.
• Automobile loans and leases: Obtain copies of automobile or other vehicle loans or leases and statements showing payments and the amount still owed.
• Credit cards: Acquire copies of monthly statements that show charges and payments for all credit cards.
• Taxes: Gather tax returns, which will show past amounts due. Collect copies of any correspondence from or to the IRS, state tax, and local tax authorities.

Income

Your income includes everything for which you receive payment—your paycheck, interest, stock dividends, lottery winnings, and so on. Pay special attention to:

• Pay statements: Find copies of your last two pay statements.
• Employment contracts or letters: Make a copy of any documents related to employment.
• Bank and brokerage statements: Gather any evidence of interest and dividends you have received, such as savings account statements, certificate of deposit statements, and brokerage account statements.
• Trusts: If you have any trust accounts, you will need the trust agreement and records of disbursements.

Expenses

Expenses are payments you make for goods and services. Make copies of canceled checks, bank statements, budgets, computer records, and other financial documents that relate to your expenses. Here’s a suggested list of expense categories to help you get started. If the expense varies from month to month, you will need about a year’s worth of records.

• Mortgage or rent
• Utilities
• Food
• Automobile
• Expenses for children
• Clothing
• Medical
• Dues
• Miscellaneous
• Charge account debt
• Taxes
• Other debt

Additional Records

You may also find useful information in calendars, diaries, e-mail, automobile mileage records, photographs, videos, letters, package tracking bills, cell phones, and social-networking sites on the Internet. Don’t forget to Google your spouse’s name and conduct a search on Facebook. If you or your spouse has applied for a loan recently, copy any financial statements that were submitted with the application.

Organizing Your Research

You can put copies of all the documents you collect in individual file folders or tabbed, three-ring notebooks, as described in the preceding chapter. You will need to make an index that will also serve as a comprehensive list of all assets, liabilities, income, and expenses. This format is easy to update when new statements are issued, and you will find it very useful later during settlement discussions, mediation, discovery, and trial.

Where to Find the Law

The first place to look for information about the law is the Internet. If you don’t have access to the Web, you can try the public library, but you will have better luck doing legal research if there is a law library at the courthouse or a law school that you can get access to.

Visit the Courtroom

Nothing compares to actually watching a trial in progress. Courthouses and divorce cases are open to the public. You can gain a lot of knowledge and become more comfortable with the courtroom if you watch a few trials.