Understandably, our offices hear the following statements often:

“I do not want to tell her/him how much money I make or give her/his lawyer all my bank statements. It is none of their business!” Though talking about finances is often touchy, providing financial information to the other party is required by Utah Rules of Civil Procedure 26.1 “Disclosure and Discovery” in all domestic relations actions. This means that in all divorce, custody, child support, and any modifications of such orders are subject to a financial give and take.

Timeline: Initial Disclosures are to be produced by the plaintiff within 14 days after the first answer to the complaint. Further, Initial Disclosures are to be produced by the defendant within 42 days after the filing of the first answer to the complaint. Such Disclosures include a court approved Financial Declaration as well as any relevant attachments. Attachments can include: monthly expenses, copies of statements verifying the amounts listed on the Financial Declaration that are reasonably available to the party; complete federal and state income tax returns for the previous two years; pay stubs and other evidence of all earned and unearned income for the 12 months before the petition was filed; all loan applications and financial statements prepared or used by the party within the 12 months before the petition was filed; documents verifying the value of all real estate ; and all statements for the 3 months before the petition was filed for all financial accounts.

The Financial Declaration can often be found online with the person’s financial institution’s webpage.

Why? The purpose of Initial Disclosures it to determine child support, spousal support, debts, living expenses and division of property. Parties that do not disclose financial information can be sanctioned by the court. The Court can:
1. Award non-disclosed assets to the other party,
2. Award attorney’s fees, or
3. Make other orders they believe are appropriate.
Such Orders may include: sanctions that prevent a party from bringing testimony or supporting evidence on your behalf during trial, dismissing or striking part of the pleadings, or rendering judgement by default.

Although the disclosures can be time consuming and burdensome it is the only way the court can determine the status of the parties’ finances. The financial declaration must be signed and is required to be true and correct. How the parties handle discovery often sets the tone for the rest of the divorce proceedings. Start your divorce on the right foot and comply with Initial Disclosures!