Through the divorce process, the assets and debts that have accumulated during the marriage will be divided between the two spouses. The starting point for divorces in Summit County is that all money, assets, and debts will be divided equally (unless the marriage is unusually short in duration). The income previously used to pay the expenses of your household will have to somehow stretch to pay for two. If you and your spouse cannot agree on how to do this, then the court will make the decision based upon the evidence. In order to prepare for the financial aspect of your divorce, it is necessary to identify all of the sources and amounts of income, all of the assets and their value, and all of the debts and their balances. <\/p>\n
If you are considering divorce, I encourage you to locate and make a copy of the documents that identify the following before the legal case is filed (and before anyone moves out of the house), as it often becomes more difficult to obtain this documentation later on:<\/p>\n
1.\tComplete federal income tax returns for the past three years with all schedules, W-2s, 1099s.
\n2.\tIncome (paystubs, direct deposit statements, salary letter, employment contracts) with breakdown of overtime, commissions, and bonuses for the past three years.
\n3.\tCost of daycare.
\n4.\tCost of health insurance, including cost for just the children\u2019s portion of the premium.
\n5.\tReal estate deeds, land contracts, options to purchase, leases, timeshares, cost of improvements, balance on mortgage at date of marriage, present mortgage, recent appraisals, financing\/refinancing applications.
\n6.\tTitles to vehicles, boats, motors, trailers, campers, aircraft, ATVs, personal watercraft, motorcycles.
\n7.\tFinancial and brokerage account statements for past year.
\n8.\tLife insurance policies with proof of cash surrender value, history of loans against the policies, and present beneficiary designation.
\n9.\tHealth insurance policies, cards, booklets.
\n10.\tPending or settled lawsuits or government claims (workers\u2019 compensation, social security, etc).
\n11.\tTrust documents.
\n12.\tNotes receivable or loans to others.
\n13.\tStocks, bonds, savings bonds or stock, stock options, other investment vehicles.
\n14.\tMost recent statement on all retirement benefits including IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, SEPs, Keoghs, government pensions, employer-provided pensions, as well as loans against them, value at date of marriage.
\n15.\tTax returns and financial statements of all business interests.
\n16.\tItemization of contents of house.
\n17.\tAll other assets such as judgments, airline miles, gift certificates, deferred compensation, unused vacation or sick pay, etc.
\n18.\tAny documentation that your spouse has dissipated assets.
\n19.\tDocumentation that your spouse has transferred funds or property with a value of $500 or more.
\n20.\tCurrent Social Security statement.
\n21.\tBalance on all debts including mortgages, vehicles, credit cards, store accounts, and utilities, including balances owed at date of marriage.
\n22.\tCredit card statements on all accounts for past six months.
\n23.\tCredit applications.
\n24.\tBankruptcy documentation from any case filed in past seven years.
\n25.\tSafe deposit box documentation and entry cards.
\n26.\tPrenuptial agreements.
\n27.\tAny prior divorce decrees and qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs) of either party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"