Edina high-asset divorce clients often ask, “What legal documents should I have compiled when I am organizing legal documents for my divorce?” The financial records needed for divorce are wide-ranging based on your current financial situation. Everyone who is getting divorced will need to consider whether they have certain documents pertaining to their assets, but high-asset clients will generally have a longer list of documents they must collect.
Here’s more info on how to compile all the necessary documents when preparing for your divorce.
Common Documents Needed During Divorce
There are certain documents nearly every couple will need to gather, such as bank statements, retirement accounts, investment accounts, life insurance policies, your will and estate plan, real property, and credit card statements. This information is used in multiple ways. First, your attorney will use the information you provide to negotiate an equitable divorce agreement with your spouse’s attorney. If you are unable to reach an agreement, a judge will need to review these financial documents to ensure their final order is fair and equitable for both parties.
Documents for High-Asset Divorces
Certain financial considerations are not as common, but they are more likely to be a factor in a high asset divorce.
Tax Implications: Your attorney will need to review the tax implications involved in your divorce, particularly if you have an executive compensation plan including stock options, or other complicated financial situations you may be involved in.
Non-Marital Assets: Whether you have received gifts or inheritances or will be receiving gifts and inheritances prior to or during the divorce, you will discuss with your attorney what documents are needed to trace and report your non-marital assets.
Business Ownership or Partnership: Your attorney will also advise you of the options and legal instruments available to you to legally safeguard business assets from the divorce, which includes an in-depth review and possible modification to your business ownership or partnership documents. This will, of course, require you to compile all your existing business documents for review.
Consider Pre-Divorce Planning
Pre-Divorce planning is an in-depth preparation process that includes 8-20 hours of advice from an Edina divorce law lawyer on how to finance your attorney’s time and your divorce, protect your assets and your business ownership, and gather the appropriate information prior to filing for divorce. A pre-divorce planning attorney will also have you prepare a monthly budget of your expenses.
Pre-divorce planning is a great option for most high-asset clients who want to preserve their financial stability. As always, you can contact Beth Barbosa if you have questions about pre-divorce planning, or if you would like to retain an attorney for pre-divorce planning.