Any kind of legal matter involving money or property of any kind in any jurisdiction, is going to have paper --- a lot of paper --- associated with it. Getting copies of these documents before a couple separates can be critically important. It saves the cost of paying a lawyer to get it later! And the better organized the documents collected, the easier (and less costly) it is for the lawyer to operate once hired.
In fact, finding out the full scope of the income sources and assets of a divorcing couple is one of the most important (and expensive) parts of divorce litigation. The entire process of getting information that is "likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence," (Md. Rule 2-402(a)) is critical whether you are engaged in mediation or litigation.
So what do we need to know? What paper do we look for? And how far back do we want to go? Well, last question first: as far back as the beginning of the marriage or even before if there was premarital property ownership. As for what we look for, here is a short list of some of the major items of information we need:
- Any and all bank accounts of both parties;
- Documents showing ownership and activity of assets (real property; retirement and investment accounts; personal property) of the parties together and individually;
- Tax returns (personal and business);
- Debts (mortgages, liens, consumer credit records, bank loans, personal loans, anything evidencing debt) of the parties together and individually;
- Documents that show all the information available on insurance plans, retirement plans and similar plans --- this means what is called "policy documents." These are usually available from human resources personnel. What is needed are the long, fine-print documents, not just the summaries that give a general overview.
Obtaining this information (or, if a couple is able to be civil and courteous at separation, by making sure both parties have the information) at the beginning of a separation can, in many cases, go a long way toward getting a faster, cheaper and more complete resolution of your marital dissolution.
