Divorce: It’s not like it is on TV

When you’re in a contested divorce the most important thing you need to do is disclose everything.  It’s not like on TV where someone surprises a witness with a document that he/she has never seen before and is the “smoking gun”.

If you’re involved in, or about to become involved in a contested divorce, you should begin gathering the following records:

• Pay stubs for you and your spouse;
• Tax returns for the past three years;
• Bank statements for all bank accounts for the past year;
• Retirement plan statements.

These records need to be disclosed and they need to be disclosed early on in the process.  If you have an attorney, these records should be provided to your attorney as soon as possible.  There are deadlines for disclosing these items and if you intend to use them at the time of trial or other evidentiary hearing, they must be sent to the other side early to ensure that you will be able to have them admitted into evidence at the time of the hearing.

For a consultation with an experienced Divorce attorney, contact Trullinger & Wenk at 623-201-8773.