{"id":47,"date":"2024-08-05T16:14:09","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T20:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/allinthefamily\/?p=47"},"modified":"2024-08-05T16:14:09","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T20:14:09","slug":"accurately-completing-financial-statements-when-obtaining-a-divorce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/allinthefamily\/2024\/08\/05\/accurately-completing-financial-statements-when-obtaining-a-divorce\/","title":{"rendered":"Accurately Completing Financial Statements When Obtaining a Divorce"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone who obtains a divorce in Massachusetts will have to file a crucial document at least once in their case: a financial statement. The importance of an accurate financial statement cannot be overstated, particularly in highly-contested divorce cases. Under Rule 401 of the Supplemental Probate and Family Court Rule, parties are required to file financial statements with the Court within 45 days of service of the summons (which is the notice issued by the Court after the Complaint for Divorce is filed and which the Plaintiff must serve on the Defendant). The parties are also required to update and file new financial statements in advance of each court appearance at which financial relief is sought by either party, as well as at a pre-trial and trial. A party who earns less than $75,000 per year will complete the\u00a0short form financial statement<\/u><\/a>, while a party who earns $75,000 per year or more will complete the\u00a0long form financial statement<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

While only the long form financial statement requires notarization of the party\u2019s signature, both the short form and the long form are signed under the penalties of perjury. A party signing a financial statement must certify that the information contained therein is true, accurate, and complete. A willful misrepresentation on a financial statement can subject the party to sanctions, including criminal penalties. Although we have never seen anyone criminally punished for information contained in or missing from a financial statement, we have seen litigants suffer significant consequences from their failure to take the necessary time to accurately complete the financial statement \u2013 namely, losing credibility in front of the trial judge. If a trial judge determines a party is not credible on financial matters, this can have considerable ramifications for how the judge will rule on issues of alimony, child support, and division of assets.\u00a0It can be an even bigger issue if financial statements that were filed and relied upon multiple times during the case and in issuing temporary orders turn out not to have been accurate or not to have included a full disclosure of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. It is absolutely critical to take the time to accurately fill out the financial statement and to do so with the assistance of counsel.<\/p>\n

When completing a financial statement, it is helpful to refer to the following documents:<\/p>\n