When you start an Equitable Distribution (ED) case, you are discussing your “stuff”. All of the property you acquired during your marriage. This includes real property like homes and rental properties, as well as personal property including vehicles, bank accounts, the ice cube tray in the freezer, and everything in between. But what documents do you need to provide?
Your attorney is going to start with having you outline what you all have. This includes financial accounts like savings, checking, money market accounts, and investments. But this also includes retirements, both vested and non-vested, cryptocurrencies, credit cards, lines of credit, and personal loans.
The attorney is going to want your actual statements from about one (1) year prior to separation to present day. If you, like most people, toss those statements almost as fast as they are mailed to you, you’ll need to call the institution and gather each statement. All pages are needed, even if it’s blank so don’t leave anything out. Screenshots will do in a pinch, but the statements are preferred.
You will also want to gather your history on store cards (think store credit cards like Lowe’s, BJ’s, or Tj Maxx) as well as applications that allow money transfers like Paypal, Venmo, CashApp, and Zelle. Consider if your spouse also has these accounts. Are you aware of where they’ve been sending or receiving money?
Once you gather the financial information as outlined above, you’ll also need to make a list of personal property and give it a value. This is not a pristine, fresh out of the box, what you paid for that frying pan value. This is what you’d pay for that frying pan now at a garage sale. That’s the value, now, which is what’s relevant. This is going to take time and require some organization. Consult your attorney for the level of detail needed.
Once you have the financial accounts, and the personal property outlined, you have just about finished your duty on the document production. For now. That’s because inevitably you’ll miss something, or the other side will ask for things you nor your attorney considered. It’s the nature of things. It’s just best to keep ticking away at it and try not to get overwhelmed or frustrated. Dividing what took years to amass takes time. A competent attorney can help you do it.