Bedrock Divorce Advisors

January is the busiest month for divorce professionals.  I have not seen official statistics proving this, but I can tell you that we, along with our divorce professional colleagues, all notice increased activity in January.

Many say this is due to families trying to “stick it out” through the holidays for the sake of their children, and others say that people make this decision as one of their New Year’s resolutions.  No matter what the reason, if you find yourself at the beginning of the divorce process you should organize as much as possible to make the process go more smoothly.

Below you will find a partial list showing you what financial information you should begin gathering:

1. Income Tax Returns. Completed personal, corporate, partnership, joint venture, or other income tax returns (federal, state and local), including W-2, 1099, and K-1 forms, in your possession or control for the last 5 years, including all amended tax returns. Do you expect any tax refunds?

1A. Business Financial Statements.

– Net worth statement – balance sheet or list of assets and liabilities

– Income statement – cash flow or income and expense statement

2. Income Information. Current income information, including payroll stubs and all other evidence of income (investment property, rental/lease agreements, dividends, interest, royalties, lottery winnings, etc.) since the filing of your last tax return.

3. Personal Property Tax Returns filed in this state or anywhere else from the start of the marriage.

4. Banking Information. All monthly bank statements, passbooks, check registers, deposit slips, canceled checks, and bank charge notices on personal and business accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market and retirement accounts from banks, savings and loan institutions, credit unions, or other institutions in which you or your spouse has an interest.

5. Financial Statements submitted to banks, lending institutions, or any other persons or entities, which were prepared by you or your spouse at any time during the last five (5) years.

(To download the full list of 29 items, please go to our Bedrock Divorce Facebook Fan Page here.)

We would greatly appreciate it if you could “Like” our fan page while you are there.

If you are a woman contemplating divorce and you don’t have easy access to all of this information, do not worry!  Oftentimes we can help you find easy ways to obtain the information you need.  Just begin gathering as many items as you can, and then make an appointment with a Divorce Financial Strategist™ or divorce financial analyst. They will help you (and your divorce attorney) make sense of your current financial situation along with the future financial and tax implications of your various divorce settlement options. The sooner you start gathering this information, the less likely you will still be dealing with your divorce next January!

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