Financial affidavit: what goes in it and the documents behind each line

A financial affidavit is the court form on which each spouse or parent lists, under oath, what they earn, what they spend, what they own and what they owe. Courts call it by several names, such as financial statement, financial declaration or domestic relations financial affidavit, but the job is the same.

The form is usually split into the same blocks: the case details, gross income by source, payroll deductions, regular living expenses, debts, and assets. Some states add a block for the children’s accounts or health insurance. On these forms, gross income is pay before any tax or deduction comes out. By contrast, net income is what remains after the deductions the form allows. The judge and the other side read it to work out support, alimony and the split of property.

Each figure should trace back to a paper. Illinois law says it outright: the statewide form must be supported by documentary evidence, including income tax returns, pay stubs and banking statements (Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/501).

Each party fills in and signs their own affidavit, even when a lawyer prepares it. The court or the state judicial branch publishes the blank form, and every state words it differently. Family law firms, paralegals and sometimes the client’s accountant gather the supporting documents, check the figures and keep the file ready for disclosure to the other side.

1. Download the current form from your state court’s website or the clerk of the court handling the case, never from a copy saved years ago.
2. Check whether your state has a short and a long version, and which one fits your income and assets.
3. Gather the documents for each section before you type a single figure.
4. Convert every amount to the period the form uses, weekly or monthly, with the state’s own method.
5. Sign it as the form directs, which may mean in front of a notary or a court clerk, and keep a copy of everything you hand over.

• Using another state’s form, or an outdated version of your own state’s form.
• Mixing periods: a biweekly paycheck typed straight into a monthly income line.
• Listing net take-home pay where the form asks for gross income from all sources.
• Leaving out an account, a retirement plan or a debt because it seems small or belongs to “the business”.
• Guessing at values without marking them as estimates or keeping the statement behind them.

State forms are laid out differently, but their blocks line up closely. Use this map to collect papers once and fill any state’s version from the same folder.

• Self-employed clients usually need the most papers: the tax return alone rarely shows the current year.
• Keep a note of where each figure came from, so you can answer quickly if the other side questions it.

There is no national financial affidavit. Each court system writes its own, and the differences matter. Connecticut asks for weekly figures, while Florida, Georgia and Illinois ask for monthly ones.

Many filing errors come from pay periods. A person paid every two weeks does not simply earn two paychecks a month: some months have three paydays. Each state prints its own way of handling this, so use the method on your form.

On a weekly form such as Connecticut’s, a biweekly amount is divided by 2, and a monthly amount is multiplied by 12, then divided by 52 (Connecticut Judicial Branch, Financial Affidavit JD-FM-6-SHORT). On a monthly form such as Florida’s, a biweekly amount is multiplied by 26, then divided by 12 (Florida Family Law Form 12.902(b), Financial Affidavit (Short Form), with instructions). Georgia’s rules fix the weekly-to-monthly factor at 4.35 weeks per month (Georgia Uniform Superior Court Rules 24.2 and 24.2A).

Expenses follow the same logic. For a bill paid once or twice a year, such as car insurance, add up the yearly total and spread it across the form’s period.

An affidavit is sworn, so a wrong figure is more than a typo. Connecticut’s form warns that willful misrepresentation will subject the signer to sanctions and may lead to criminal charges (Connecticut Judicial Branch, Financial Affidavit JD-FM-6-SHORT). Florida’s form ends with a declaration under penalties of perjury that the facts in it are true (Florida Family Law Form 12.902(b), Financial Affidavit (Short Form), with instructions).

Hiding property carries its own risk. New Hampshire’s family division rule treats an intentional failure to disclose an asset as a violation, and the court may award that asset to the other party (New Hampshire Circuit Court Family Division Rules 1.25-A and 2.16).

If you do not know a value, say so. The New Hampshire rule lets a party give an approximate value as long as it is marked as an estimate (New Hampshire Circuit Court Family Division Rules 1.25-A and 2.16).

Expect the affidavit whenever money is at stake: temporary or final support, alimony, property division or attorney’s fees. In Illinois, a request for temporary maintenance or child support must come with an affidavit (Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/501).

Deadlines are tied to hearings and differ by state. New Hampshire requires the affidavit to be exchanged and filed seven days before any hearing unless the court excuses it (New Hampshire Circuit Court Family Division Rules 1.25-A and 2.16). Read your state’s rule or the case scheduling order, and ask the clerk if you are not sure.

A family law office usually sends the document request right after intake, because the affidavit cannot be finished without it. The request goes faster when it names the periods your state’s disclosure rule uses, for example years of tax returns and months of statements.

• Gross income on the form matches the year-to-date totals on the latest pay stub.
• Each bank statement is complete, every page, and covers the months asked for.
• Last year’s gross income agrees with the prior-year tax return and its schedules.
• Retirement and investment balances come from statements, not memory.
• Account and Social Security numbers are redacted the way the state’s form says: some states let the last four digits show, while Illinois asks for the whole number to be hidden.
• In a child support case, the state’s child support worksheet goes with the affidavit. Georgia, for example, requires the worksheet and schedules to be served with it (Georgia Uniform Superior Court Rules 24.2 and 24.2A).

• Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/501: One statewide financial affidavit form set by the Supreme Court is used; it must be supported by documents including tax returns, pay stubs and banking statements, and accompanies a request for temporary support.
• Connecticut Judicial Branch, Financial Affidavit JD-FM-6-SHORT: The short version is for gross annual income and net assets each under $75,000; figures are weekly with printed conversion factors; willful misrepresentation brings sanctions and possible criminal charges.
• Florida Family Law Form 12.902(b), Financial Affidavit (Short Form), with instructions: The short form is for individual gross income under $50,000 a year; amounts are converted to monthly figures; the form is signed under penalties of perjury.
• Georgia Uniform Superior Court Rules 24.2 and 24.2A: Rule 24.2 sets out the Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit; Rule 24.2A requires monthly figures and a factor of 4.35 weeks per month.
• New Hampshire Circuit Court Family Division Rules 1.25-A and 2.16: Affidavits are exchanged and filed seven days before any hearing; estimates must be marked; an intentionally hidden asset may be awarded to the other party.