Florida has a mandatory disclosure requirement to ensure fairness and compliance with equitable distribution laws in divorce. Under this rule, parties must exchange comprehensive sworn financial affidavits and supporting documents within 45 days of the initial petition.
So, if you are going through a divorce, you and your spouse need to be adequately informed about each other’s financial standing. Here is what you should know about the process:
What should you disclose?
You and your soon-to-be ex-spouse need to disclose income, assets and liabilities. Examples of supporting documents to exchange include pay stubs, tax returns, bonus records, business documents, bank statements, real estate records, retirement accounts, investment accounts, credit card statements, mortgage documents and loan agreements.
Filing the financial affidavit is mandatory. Failure to observe the process can lead to penalties, such as being held in contempt of court, and fines.
However, Florida allows parties to file the waiver of mandatory disclosure form to skip exchanging some documents if they have resolved related matters and are both satisfied that the agreement is fair.
Parties in some uncontested divorces can also waive the filing of financial affidavits with the court, provided they still exchange financial information with each other.
What to do when you receive your spouse’s documents
Once you receive your spouse’s financial documents, carefully review them for accuracy. Verify if the listed assets and debts are correct. It also helps to have a checklist to compare the submitted documents against the mandatory disclosure requirements to identify if any information or documents are missing.
Additionally, look for red flags, such as large cash withdrawals/transfers, sudden drops in income/bonus, sudden increase in business expenses, discrepancies in asset valuations and so on.
Exchanging financial information during divorce promotes fairness in property division. Consider legal guidance to follow the right procedures and spot red flags soon.