Archive for category Financial Disclosure
What Is The Financial Disclosure Statement And Must We Complete It If We Are Doing A Divorce Online?
Posted by admin in Financial Disclosure on December 18, 2011
Many couples completing an online divorce and wishing to minimize their work, inquire as to whether or not they must complete financial disclosure documents for their divorce. There are three basic parts of any divorce – in any jurisdiction.
1) The Property Settlement Agreement (and Child Care Plan, if there are minor children with the marriage). This is a statement of the division of assets, debts and child responsibilities. This document is sometimes referred to as a Separation Agreement and has other names depending on the jurisdiction. But the function is the same: to tell the Court who is to get what and how the minor children (if any) are to be cared for by the parents after the divorce.
2) The filing forms are the second major section of any online divorce. These vary widely by jurisdiction but all contain a Petition or Complaint for Divorce, which is a document asking the Court to grant a divorce, a Judgment or Decree of Divorce, which is the Court granting the divorce and other forms in between, which we will discuss in more detail in a future post.
3) The third major section of any divorce is the financial disclosure statements. The financial disclosure document is separated into two parts: the budget and the asset/debt statement.
The budget form helps the judge determine – especially in cases of child support and spousal maintenance – if the recipient is getting enough to meet his/her needs and if the payer has enough to pay it. These are profiles of the future financial situations of the individuals since that is what is relevant for the future. Read the rest of this entry »
Financial Disclosure Good Idea Or Bad Idea?
Posted by admin in Financial Disclosure on November 4, 2011
If you have ever assisted a client in a short sale or loan modification then you are aware that lenders frequently request that your clients make financial disclosure. This financial disclosure is usually a condition precedent to the lender modifying the client’s loan or it’s made a condition precedent to the lender releasing their lien on the property incident to a short sale. Have you ever thought about whether or not your client should be making financial disclosure?
What is financial disclosure?
Typically, financial disclosure involves our clients turning over personal financial information to their lender in anticipation of receiving a concession by the lender. This concession comes in the form of a loan modification or the lender releasing its lien on the client’s property to facilitate a short sale. The information includes: (i) bank statements; (ii) pay stubs; (iv) profit and loss statements; (v) tax returns and the like.
Why do lenders request financial disclosure?
Before I address this question I must point out the obvious. The debtor creditor relationship is one of the most adversarial relationships that exist in our society. On any given day, whether we are in a good economy or a bad economy, you can walk into your local courthouse and you will find a large number of lawsuits that have been filed by lenders against borrowers for nonpayment on their loans. With this in mind it is appropriate to pose the question: Why do lenders request financial disclosure? Read the rest of this entry »