If your spouse refuses to produce financial information, whether it’s under mandatory discovery or a specific request for documents or information, you can take the issue up with the court.
Financial Affidavits in Dissolution of Marriage Actions: Are They Really Mandatory? Of all the ostensibly sacrosanct principles of Florida family law procedure, the concept that financial affidavits are required in all dissolution of marriage actions and cannot be waived is the polestar.
Third, even in original proceedings, the requirement that the parties file financial affidavits will effectively be negated if the parties proceed to final hearing without objecting to the lack of affidavits, and by the holding in Dyke that final judgments in the absence of financial affidavits are not void.
While it is in fact true that the literal language of the Family Law Rules of Procedure mandate that all parties in all dissolution proceedings file financial affidavits, an analysis of the pertinent case law reveals that the courts have in significant measure eviscerated the rule.
When Your Spouse Won’t Provide Financial Information If you're going through a divorce, one of the first things an attorney will tell you is to gather your financial information, including bank account statements, credit card statements, title documents, and mortgage documents.
In concept, a financial affidavit is a simple document. It is a sworn statement of your income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. The form for the affidavit is prescribed by the Florida Supreme Court. Both parties must file and serve a financial affidavit in a divorce case.
If a spouse fails to produce any mandatory disclosures or discovery requested of him or her, the other spouse may serve a Subpoena Duces Tecum (a subpoena seeking documents) directly to the bank, investment, or lending institution where the spouse has accounts to obtain the documents.
A financial affidavit is generally not required for adoptions, injunctions, and uncontested divorces. The financial affidavit is a standardized form prepared by the Florida Supreme Court. There are two different versions of the form: a short form and a long form.
There is a duty on you both to provide 'full and frank' disclosure. This means that on an on-going basis you need to make sure you provide a full, clear and accurate position of your finances. The last thing you need is for your conduct to be questioned on the basis you are not providing full and frank disclosure.
Once the court grants the motion to compel, the court will grant the other party a deadline before which the documents or information must be shared. If the person does not respect the order of the court, there may be severe consequences such as the dismissal of the other party's case or being in contempt of court.
Failing To Respond To Discovery Can Lead To A Dismissal Of Your Case With Prejudice. In the practice of law, the discovery phase can be your best friend or your worst nightmare. Interrogatories, requests for documents, and depositions can make or break your case.
within 45 daysYou must file your financial affidavit for divorce in Florida with the court and serve it on your spouse within 45 days of being served with the divorce petition. If you are the one filing for divorce, you can file and serve the financial affidavit along with your divorce papers.
A majority of Florida family law courts require both litigants to complete a financial affidavit.
Mandatory disclosure requires each party in a family matter to provide the other party with certain financial information and documents. These documents must be served on the other party within 45 days of service of the initial petition or supplemental petition for modification on the respondent.
If you refuse to provide financial disclosure as part of the financial court process the court can make orders against you requiring financial disclosure. You will be in contempt of court if you breach the order.
If a party fails to provide court ordered financial disclosure, their pleadings may be struck. If pleadings are struck, a court will no longer consider that party's position when making decisions in the proceeding.
A lawyer can ask you for a financial statement during settlement discussions, but you are not required to provide the information.
21 In Casto, the Supreme Court considered the elements upon which a trial court could set aside a postnuptial agreement, ruling that a spouse may set aside or modify an agreement by establishing that it was reached under fraud, deceit , duress , coercion, misrepresentation, or overreaching.
Citing Rule 1.611 (a), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, the court in Vaccaro held that a final judgment granting monetary relief may be vacated on appeal if the party awarded relief failed to file a required financial affidavit, but only if the appellant objected at trial to the other party’s failure to file an affidavit.
It is in fact true that the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure mandate financial affidavits in all dissolution cases . The case law provides otherwise. Dissolution proceedings in simplified cases, cases when financial relief is not requested, and cases involving mediation agreements, marital settlement agreements, ...
Indeed, while the rules provide that financial affidavits are mandatory in all dissolution proceedings, the case law supports the proposition that financial affidavits are mandatory only in original proceedings as opposed to simplified dissolutions, and even then only when a specific request for financial relief has been made in the pleadings.
Third, even in original proceedings, the requirement that the parties file financial affidavits will effectively be negated if the parties proceed to final hearing without objecting to the lack of affidavits, and by the holding in Dyke that final judgments in the absence of financial affidavits are not void.
For those of you who do not know, a financial affidavit is a formal document where in which you disclose financial investments, prior to a divorce proceeding. Often, this legal form is required during divorce litigation.
When filling out the affidavit, you are also required to sign the document in order to swear (under oath) that everything on it is true. Due to this, any misinformation or incorrect facts could lead you to serious legal consequences.
However, even simple mistakes have the potential to make you look bad in the eyes of the judge and your soon-to-be-ex spouse, so it is important you keep the information within the financial affidavit as accurate as humanly possible.
Anyone who intentionally provides false information on a Financial Affidavit is committing perjury and could face serious legal action. Note: Sometimes, during the process of completing your Financial Affidavit and/or Lifestyle Analysis, you may discover that your husband is hiding assets.
A Financial Affidavit provides the Courts with a snapshot, so to speak, of a couple’s current financial picture. Plus, it compels both sides to swear they are telling the truth about their finances.
All articles/blog posts are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute legal advice. If you require legal advice, retain a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author, who is not an attorney.
When you file your Financial Affidavit you must swear under oath that the information you provided is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief. Obviously, your husband will have to do the same when he files his Financial Affidavit.
To prove that your ex lied on the affidavit, you need to gather helpful information that you might have uncovered during discovery. You will have to confront your ex with this evidence. For example, you might have the following: If your ex has a new job, then you can have a coworker testify.
5. Check information about insurance policies. Affidavits generally also require that you report any insurance policies they have. You should check to see if everything has been reported on the affidavit. Insurance generally includes: Health insurance. Life insurance. Accident insurance. ...
Ask for discovery. In most child support cases, you have the right to “discovery.”. This process allows each side to request information from the other parent. At your next court hearing, you should tell the judge you want discovery because you think your ex's affidavit is inaccurate.
Ask the clerk. If you don't yet have a final child support order in place, then you don't need to file a motion. Instead, you will ask the judge for a hearing on whether the information in your ex's affidavit is accurate.
The affidavit should provide the following: bank account balance and the name of the bank. checking account balance and the name of the bank. automobile loan information. all real estate owned, including addresses. stocks, bonds, and other assets. ...
You should get a referral to an attorney by contacting your local or state bar association. Once you have a referral, contact the attorney and schedule a consultation.
Generally, your ex must report all sources of income, not just wages or salary. Think back to when you were together and see if you can identify any sources of income your ex might not have reported. For example, he or she should have reported the following: worker's compensation. unemployment benefits.
If he hasn't filed any documents in the course, you can get a Default Judgment. Speak with a local family law attorney who will be able to assist you in moving things along. Good luck! This response is for general purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
Divorce isn't a matter of getting somebody to sign papers, or not getting him mad. You've basically been lied to and cheated on and if you keep doing this yourself you'll continue to be lied to and cheated on. As I have said about a thousand times, either get a lawyer or pay the consequences.
Generally, it parties enter into a marital settlement agreement then both parties are required to file financial affidavits. However, mandatory disclosure can be waived. If you are not asking the court to ratify a settlement agreement then your spouse will not need to file anything if he allows a default to be entered against him.