Today, we are going to discuss financial statements in your West Virginia divorce. The thing to know about financial statement is that these are documents that must be included whenever you’re going through any kind of divorce.
These financial statements are your personal list of everything you own. You also have to list your personal expenses in the event that alimony or spousal support is going to be an issue. It’s very critical that you list every last piece of property that you have, whether you think the court should divide it or not. The name of the game is everything needs to be disclosed.
What Do I Need To Disclose in Financial Statements?
You need to include any real property like your house, vehicles, bank accounts, retirement accounts, even include your personal property like your clothes for example. Now, you don’t have to necessarily specifically list out every single item you own, but you do have to say what you think all of your personal property is worth all together.
You are listing everything out and then the court is making a determination. We’ve talked before about whether a property is considered to be marital property or non marital property, however, everything is supposed to be disclosed and listed.
What Happens If I Don’t List Everything in The Financial Statements?
The reason it’s so important to list everything is because I’ve seen situations where people have not listed all of their property and it then gave the other person the right to come back and try to open the case back up.
Let’s say you haven’t listed something and it’s something that could be potentially valuable and your former spouse. If they found out about it, they could potentially use that to open up the case. If you want to make sure the case runs efficiently as possible, then it’s very important that you list all assets. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s in your best financial interest to do so.
You should just write down every last piece of property that you have. This would be included in the financial statements.
What About Putting a Value of My Property and Personal Assets?
It’s also important you do your very best to make sure that the values are accurate that you listed on there. This doesn’t mean you have to go out and get an appraiser or somebody like that to appraise it, but you’ve got to do your very best to try to list what you think the value is of all property and what your personal expenses are as well. Those are some basics about what you should list whenever you’re filling out a financial statement.
Remember to make sure you disclose everything. It’s critically important so that you can make sure that the case runs as smoothly as possible. These are some of the basics about completing financial statements and the importance of properly filling out the financial statements for your divorce.
