How to Fill Out Financial Disclosure Affidavit

Family law financial affidavits are mandatory in every divorce case by Florida Law, which is a part of mandatory disclosure. Mandatory disclosure is financial information that is automatically disclosed by people filing for a divorce. The purpose is to ensure that each party is aware of the financial circumstances from both sides.

These mandatory disclosures require a financial affidavit form, and often require information related to tax returns, bank statements, credit card statements, car titles and insurance policies.
Financial affidavits provide detailed income and expense information to the Florida courts system. This information is used to determining if alimony should be granted and when calculating child support payments. You will need to be able to accurately take into account all of your expenses.

What Happens When Financial Affidavit is Not Filled Out Correctly?

Financial Affidavit forms are a way to show how one party’s income does not meet their monthly expenses. If you underestimate how much money you make or how many expenses you have, you could be showing the court you don’t need as much money as you really do when filing for alimony.

If the person that has to pay alimony is underestimating their expenses, they could end up paying more than they can actually afford. If you are shorting yourself on the assets and liability side, you may be obligated to pay more money and shorting yourself on equitable distribution of the assets.

If you intentionally mislead the court when filling out the form, then they will discount your opinion on any of the issue, and your credibility will be destroyed during your testimony which could impact the judgement of your case.

How to Calculate Monthly Expenses

Monthly expenses can be more than you think at the surface. Yes, it includes day-to-day living expenses such as: rent, mortgage, utility bills, loans, but there are a number of eligible expenses you may not have accounted for. Be sure to add in expenses for car repairs and gas, vacations, haircuts, grocery and toiletry items, medical expenses and gifts for special occasions.

It is also important to accurately report on your assets in financial affidavit forms. You should consider the items that you possess and what the replacement costs of each item would be if you had to buy it.

Chris Lafrance is a certified family lawyer and provides a detailed explanation on how to fill out your Financial Affidavit form correctly. Contact LaFrance Law for more help regarding Florida financial affidavit forms.