How family lawyers request a W-2 from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask the client for every W-2 they received for the tax years your returns cover, one per employer, including short jobs. In a divorce, W-2s confirm wage income for support calculations, and box 12 shows contributions to retirement plans that may be marital property. Ask for the PDF from the payroll portal, and for the current year’s W-2 once employers send it by January 31.
Why family lawyers need a W-2
The W-2 is the employer’s own record of annual wages and withholding, so it checks the income reported on the tax return and on the financial affidavit. Box 12 codes reveal 401(k), 403(b) or 457 contributions, which lead to retirement accounts to list in the disclosure. Comparing several years shows whether wage income is steady, rising or falling, which matters when support is set from it.
What exactly to ask for
W-2s for each tax year covered by the returns you are collecting, one per employer, including seasonal or short jobs. Copy B or Copy C, or the PDF from each employer’s payroll portal. On a joint return the client may only hold their own W-2s; the spouse’s wages still appear on the return itself.
What to check when it arrives
- The number of W-2s matches the employers on the client’s list and adds up to the wages on the matching return.
- Box 12 codes D, E or G are noted, as each points to a retirement plan to list in the disclosure.
- The gap between box 1 and box 5 wages is understood, since pre-tax 401(k) contributions lower box 1 but not box 5.
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 W-2s for the last few years
Hi [Client name],
Along with your tax returns, I need the W-2s you received for the same years, one from each employer, even for a job you held only briefly.
You can usually download them as PDFs from each employer’s payroll portal, under Tax documents. If you cannot reach an old employer’s portal, tell me which one and I will help you get a copy.
Could you send them by [date]? Thank you for pulling these together.
Best, [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 a W-2 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.