Over the course of your divorce case, you will likely be required to produce many documents. We know this process can be a huge thorn in your side. Locating these documents ahead of time can help ease the burden once your divorce process begins. If you have historically not been the partner who deals with the accounting and finance side of a relationship, locating and creating a system for these documents is an important step in becoming independent from your partner. This applies to documents relating to all aspects of your joint life together – home and car ownership, children, future planning, etc. Tracking down this paperwork in a timely manner will improve the efficiency of your case. It is best to track down at least the past two years’ worth of documents, though this will vary depending on the situation. Though this post is focused mainly on divorce cases, the production of these documents will likely be required in other family law situations as well. Here are 10 documents you should track down and have digital copies of in anticipation of your divorce case:
- Paystubs.
- Federal and State tax returns.
- Credit report.
- Statements for all bank accounts and credit cards. Note that these must be actual statements, and not screenshots or photos of banking apps.
- Retirement account statements.
- Social security statement.
- Insurance policies (home, auto, life, health, etc.).
- Property deeds.
- Vehicle titles and registrations (cars, boats, motorcycles, etc.).
- Documentation of monthly expenses (rent, utilities, grocery bills, phone bills, medical bills, etc.).