Skip to main content

The Financial Statement and the Importance of Honesty

By
As part of any family law case in Massachusetts (including divorce, paternity, child support, modifications, etc.), Massachusetts Supplemental Probate Court Rule 401 requires that each party file a complete, true, and accurate financial statement. For individuals earning less than $75,000 per year, their financial statement is the "short form." Individuals earning more than $75,000 are required to fill out the "long form."

A surprising number of individuals don't take the financial statement seriously, only to be surprised when their financial statement is scrutinized by the opposing party or the judge. When we receive a financial statement prior to a court hearing, we compare the income versus the expenditures, as well as to any previous financial statements. In addition, we review whether the opposing party has listed items such as interests in trusts and businesses, digital assets, patents, valuable collections, and whether the reported income is consistent with previous tax returns and loan applications.

When you sign a financial statement, you are signing under oath that it is complete, true, and accurate. When the opposing party shows the judge that your financial statement is misleading, your credibility comes into question. As countless grade school teachers have lectured, honesty is the best policy.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Drake ValentinJanuary 23, 2017 at 3:25 AM

    I really enjoyed reading your article. I found this as an informative and interesting post, so I think it is very useful and knowledgeable. I would like to thank you for the effort you have made in writing this article.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2024 U.S. Presidential Party Platforms - What are the policy positions that could affect families?

By
While the laws that affect family formation, marriage and divorce are often made at the state level, there are also many policies and laws at the federal level that affect families and children.  Just some examples from recent years that have impacted families in my mediation practice include changes to the federal tax laws (such as  the elimination of the alimony tax deduction ) and U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same sex marriage and reproductive health rights.  In just over a month, the United States presidential election will have a significant impact on these federal policies going forward, and could choose the next appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court as well. In 2016 and 2020 we shared what each presidential platform said about families and policy regarding family formation and dissolution, and below we'll provide you an update on the 2024 presidential platforms.  As Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."...
1 comment
Read more

Updating your Divorce Agreement Template - More Lessons from Cavanagh v. Cavanagh

By
We recently posted a lengthy review of the the Massachusetts SJC decision in Cavanagh v. Cavanagh (2002)  which included some recommendations for drafting divorce agreements, also typically called Separation Agreements.  The Cavanagh case is best known for it's clarification of how the courts should evaluate support calculations when a case may have both alimony and child support.  However, the case also contained numerous rulings that should make practitioners review their Separation Agreement templates and change some of the ways in which they may have previously drafted certain sections. In this post we'll share actual language from the Gray Jay Endeavors, LLC form Separation Agreement template which addresses each of the issues raised by the Cavanagh decision.  If you are a professional interested in purchasing the full Separation Agreement template, check out Gray Jay's  forms subscription which includes editable Massachusetts court forms and financial st...
Post a Comment
Read more

Co-Parenting Coordinator Agreements - What They Can Do and How to Draft Them

By
Photo by Marcelo Silva on Unsplash Conflict between parents negatively affects children but for some parents it's hard to avoid conflict when separating or divorcing.  Loss, grief, and anger all make it difficult to co-parent and some parents need help overcoming those barriers. One of the professionals that can help parents reduce conflict by assisting them in making the necessary co-parenting decisions is a Co-Parenting Coordinator.  The duties of a Co-Parenting Coordinator can vary but often include assisting parents with decision making around: changes or clarifications of the existing parenting plan; exchanges of the child or children including date, time, place, means of and responsibilities for transportation; education or daycare including school choice, tutoring, summer school, before and after school care, participation in special education testing and programs, or other educational decisions; enrichment and extracurricular activities including camps and jobs; the c...
Post a Comment
Read more