Have you heard of a financial affidavit?

Do you know what is a financial affidavit?

You might be accustomed to the word, financial statement, which is used to demonstrate your financial situation. For child custody, divorce, bankruptcies, and other court cases, a financial affidavit is indeed an important piece of document. 

Thus it is crucial to know about the essential details of financial affidavits, along with their role, importance, and use it. So, without wasting any more time, let’s start with the definition of an affidavit of financial means, and then we will dig deeper into the main other essential pieces of information regarding financial affidavit. 

If you are wondering what an affidavit is, let me tell you, it is nothing but a sworn statement, which is in written form. For settlements and negotiations, the most common type of affidavits is usually used. So, it is the affidavit meaning. 

What Is A Financial Affidavit?

In different states, a financial affidavit is known with different names. Basically, it is a financial statement, which shows your expenses, income, assets, and also debts. On the basis of this particular financial statement, the court decides on the child support or spousal support it should award.

On the other hand, a financial statement also allows a business to decide whether to grant a loan or not and also whether the business is healthy for investment purposes. A divorce financial affidavit is prepared during the time of divorce by taking a considerable amount of time.

The financial statement will need you to get your bank statements, tax returns, pay bills, and stubs. As a result, you will be able to accurately list all of them in the financial affidavit form. This very financial affidavit sometimes also requires you to evaluate your monthly or weekly amount of income along with expenses. 

This is why you need time while doing all these maths for calculating your salary or income from all sources. While filling, make sure that you are doing the math right and taking references from any financial affidavit sample.

If you are facing any issues while filling the financial affidavit form, it will be best to take help from an experienced accountant, a forensic accountant. In case you are preparing your affidavit for your divorce case, an experienced divorce lawyer will be able to prepare it for you. 

Type Of Financial Affidavit

After knowing the basic details about the financial affidavits, now let’s find out how many types of affidavits are there. So, the number is two, and here they are as follows.

• Financial affidavit long form.
• Short-form financial affidavits.

On the basis of the state you are living in and the purpose for which you are preparing your financial affidavit, it will depend on which type of financial affidavit you will need. It does not matter what type of affidavit you are going for; you always have to tell the truth.

In case you are caught skipping any crucial information or inflating expenses by the judge, you might need to pay some fines or even go to jail. The same will go for when you hide your actual assets. It will also penalize you when paying for spousal and child support. 

What Is The Use Of A Financial Affidavit In The Court?

In order to calculate spousal and child support, the court always uses financial affidavits. During a child custody or divorce case, you have to share your financial affidavit with your spouse.

In case you get to see any outright lies or glaring inconsistencies, you should bring them to the court without wasting a single minute. If you research a bit, you will get to see that there are several cases where one of the spouses had hidden their assets in an offshore account or somewhere they are underemployed.

It works great when you do not want to pay much support. Your less income will allow you to get the direction of the judge’s attention on not paying the support. But when the judge finds out, you will be charged with a huge fine or even jail days.

The attorney you will hire will always look for all these omissions, mistakes, and the legal professional will also work on the difficulty that lies in finding those gaps. In case you have done so, you have to make the court believe that it was a mistake and not an intention. 

Financial Affidavit Content

In a statement, the financial information you have already provided or provided will show whether the property is marital. If it is so, it will be subject to division by both spouses or one, whoever brought it into the marriage.

This very particular information is also a way to see if either spouse received an inheritance, or a money settlement from a lawsuit, or a large gift. All of these must be included in the affidavit.

On the basis of the financial affidavit content, the court will assign financial responsibilities to the spouses. In order to find out whether your spouse can support their statement, you can conduct discovery. It is totally based on the factors and not on the fiction.

Read Also: Employment Lawyers: Revamping Employees Rights

How To Fill Out Financial Affidavit?

When you are filling out your financial statement or financial affidavit, you have to ensure that you include the following things.

• Expenses, which will include home expenses, though both spouses are responsible.
• From all sources, the total amount you are making as your income, including social security, bonuses, overtime, interest, tips, commissions, and other spousal support.
• Name and docket number of the case, which must include both the names of the parties.
• Any inheritance, money damages, or gifts received as a result of any other court case.
• Name, age, and expenses of the children.
• On your taxes, which deductions do you take.
• Health care costs along with out-of-pocket costs.
• Other insurance costs.
•  Payments for maintaining your professional license.
• Assets, for example, homes, boats, retirement plans, stocks, cars, antiques, or any other sort of collection.
• Debts you are paying, even if it is only your name in it, or have both the spouses’ names, including the IRS, student loan, and credit cards.

Your financial affidavit might require an attachment of 1099 forms and W-2 along with the pay stubs and obviously your tax returns. It is hardly recommended not to minimize your income or inflate your expenses. Until you are taking all the papers to a notary public, do not even think about signing the affidavit.  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

So, this is all about a financial affidavit; you should ensure that you are fulfilling all the requirements when preparing your financial affidavit and taking help from an experienced lawyer to handle all the paperwork related to your claim and create the statement.

Here I am also including some common questions, which you might also be thinking about and also searching for a solution. Let’s check them out.

Q1: How Do I Get A Financial Affidavit?

There are several online platforms where you can create your own financial affidavits. The best option of getting a financial affidavit is from an accountant or from a lawyer, who is handling your divorce, child custody, or alimony cases.

Q2: What Is Financial Affidavit Amount?

There is no specific financial affidavit amount, but it usually refers to the financial affidavit that lists your income, taxes, expenses, debts, and other financial responsibilities. In different financial matters within the courts, financial affidavits are used.

Q3: Do I Have To File A Financial Affidavit?

In each family law case, which involves money, you have to file a DRFA or Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit before you have a hearing on the particular issue in your case. A DRFA is supposed to have an accurate description of your expenses along with income.

Q4: What Is A Family Law Financial Affidavit?

As I have already mentioned, a financial affidavit is a simple form of documents, which is a sworn statement of your assets, liabilities, expenses, and income. In a divorce case, both parties have to serve a financial affidavit.

The Bottom Line

I hope you get a detailed idea about the financial affidavit and how to prepare it. In case you have any queries or doubts, you can let us know; we will try to come up with the most reliable and relevant solution as soon as possible.

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