Section 5 – Debts & Liabilities – It is your Advantage to List All Debts & Liabilities

In my previous blog I wrote about Section 4 (c) of the Financial Statement and noted to the readers to stay tuned for Section 5. 

Again, Section 5 offers different columns.  The first column is the “date of marriage”, the second column is the “valuation date”.  The valuation date is also known as the “separation date” and the third and final column is the “current value”. 

All debts and liabilities must be listed on the financial statement if your name is associated with it  Again if you have a joint debt with your spouse or a third party, then you only enter half of the debt in the relevant columns on the statement.  It is to your advantage to list all debts and liabilities as this will decrease your net family property.  I will be writing about net family property in one of my later blogs.  Remember it is up to you to prove your debts and liabilities.  Any debt claimed with no back up documentation is more than likely going to be a debt which will not be included in your net family property.  If you have acquired debt after your separation date, this debt should be noted in the “current value” column of the debt section of the statement.  When making a claim for spousal and/or child support, it is very important to show the Judge what your current debt is as well.  If you are claiming that you can’t make ends meet on what your spouse is currently providing, good evidence that backs up your claim is that you  are currently going deeper into debt to support yourself and the children and therefore require additional funds from your spouse.

Section 6 – Property, Debts and Other Liabilities on Date of Marriage

This section will automatically be filled in by the form.  You will have entered your date of marriage property under the “property” section already as well as your date of marriage assets and debts etc.  Each of these sections have a “date of marriage” column.  The form compiles all these different sections and enters the values into Section 6 of the financial statement.

Section 7 – Excluded Property

Excluded property is exactly that, property that by law is not included in your net family property.  This type of property includes, gifts or inheritances from a third party, income from property expressly excluded by donor/testator, personal injuries awards for damages, life insurance proceeds, traced property and excluded property by spousal agreement.  Again, it is up to you to prove that this property is excluded and why.  For example, if you inherit a sum of money and keep that money in an investment or bank account in your name alone, you prove that it was inherited and then prove that the money was kept in your name alone.  This is easily done by providing the investment statement showing how and when the account was opened i.e. Where the funds were transferred from and of course that your name alone is on the statement.  However, if you took that inherited money and used it to upgrade the matrimonial home, it is no longer excluded and your spouse will share in the value of the upgrade to the matrimonial home.

Section 8 – Disposed of Property

Disposed of property is property that has been disposed of during the two years immediately preceding the making of the financial statement or during the marriage, whichever period is shorter.