How family lawyers request an investment statement from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask for statements for every brokerage, retirement and investment account the client or the couple holds: 401(k), IRA, pension, brokerage and college savings. For each, ask for the most recent statement, the one closest to the date of separation and, when the account predates the marriage, one from around the wedding. Those values feed property division and the disclosure.
Why family lawyers need an investment statement
Investment and retirement accounts can be among the largest assets in a divorce, and part of a balance may be separate property if it was built before the marriage, depending on the state. Statements on key dates let you trace contributions and growth, list current values on the disclosure, and identify employer plans that may later need a QDRO to be divided.
What exactly to ask for
For each account: the most recent quarterly or annual statement, the one closest to the date of separation and, if the account existed before the marriage, the one closest to the date of marriage. Every page, including the holdings detail. For employer plans, the participant statement from the plan administrator’s website.
What to check when it arrives
- Each account shows its number and owner, and matches the accounts suggested by the tax returns and W-2 box 12 codes.
- The statements cover the key dates: the latest period, the date of separation and, where relevant, the date of marriage.
- Loans against a 401(k) and pending transfers are noted, since they change the net value to divide.
Email to send your client
Replace the bracketed parts. The same text fits in the message of a DokuTrak request (up to 1,000 characters).
Subject: Your investment and retirement statements
Hi [Client name],
I need statements for every investment and retirement account you have: 401(k), IRA, pension, brokerage or college savings. For each one, please send the most recent statement and the one closest to your date of separation. If an account existed before your marriage, an old statement from around that time helps too.
You can usually download PDFs from each provider’s website, under Statements or Documents.
Could you send them by [date]? If an older statement is hard to find, tell me which account and we will request it.
Thank you, [Your name]
Sources
The rules above come from these primary sources. Check them, and your local rules, before you rely on them.
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not an investment statement or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.