A financial declaration form is usually required in domestic relations actions. Domestic relations actions often involve child support, alimony, property distribution, and debt division. If the respondent files an answer, each party must disclose to the other evidence of the party’s income, assets, debts and expenses, using a fully completed court-approved financial declaration form and attachments. Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26.1. The domestic relations actions that require a financial declaration form are:

 

• Divorce

• Temporary separation

• Separate maintenance

• Parentage

• Child custody

• Child support

• Modification of a domestic relations order

 

If the respondent does not file an answer, the parties do not need to disclose to each other the financial declaration form and attachments but the parties may still need to file the form with the court so the court can enter orders affecting child support, alimony, division of property and debts.

 

Financial declarations are not required in enforcing previous orders, adoptions, cohabitant abuse protective orders, child protective orders, civil stalking injunctions, or grandparent visitation petitions. They are typically required for any modification or temporary order.

 

Each party must disclose on the form all income, assets, debts, and expenses or the court may impose significant penalties.

 

Completing a Financial Declaration

 

Each party must complete the approved financial declaration form and attach the following:

 

• Copies of statements that are reasonably available to the party verifying the items and amounts listed on the form

• Copies for the two tax years before the petition was filed, complete federal and state income tax returns, including Form W-2 and supporting tax schedules and attachments, filed by or on behalf of the party or by or on behalf of any entity in which the party has a majority or controlling interest, including, but not limited to, Form 1099 and Form K-1

• Pay stubs and other evidence of all earned and unearned income for the 12 months before the petition was filed

• All loan applications and financial statements prepared by or used by the party within the 12 months before the petition was filed

• Documents verifying the value of all real estate in which the party has an interest, including, but not limited to, the most recent appraisal, tax valuation and refinance documents

• All statements for the 3 months before the petition was filed for all financial accounts, including, but not limited to, checking, savings, money market funds, certificates of deposit, brokerage, investment, retirement, regardless of whether the account has been closed including those held in that party’s name, jointly with another person or entity, or as a trustee or guardian, or in someone else’s name on that party’s behalf.

 

 

If any of these documents are not reasonably available or are in the other party’s possession, the party completing the financial declaration form must estimate the amounts entered and explain the basis for the estimate and why the documents are not available.

 

Time for Disclosure

 

The petitioner must serve the financial declaration and attachments on the respondent within 14 days after the respondent serves their first answer to the petition. The respondent must serve the financial declaration and attachments on the petitioner within 28 days after the petitioner’s first disclosure or 28 days after that respondent’s appearance in the action, whichever is later. The parties are required to serve amendments to the financial declaration if there is new information or if there are changes to the information. Service is governed by URCP 5.

 

Each party must file a certificate of service with the court stating that he or she has provided the financial declaration and attachments to the other party.

 

The certificate of service is filed with the court, but normally the parties will not file the financial declaration and attachments with the court.

 

If the court is going to order child support, the parties will have to provide to the court the child support worksheet and other financial information required by Utah Code Section 78B-12-201. The child support worksheet and other information required by the statute, although similar, are independent of the required disclosure of the financial declaration form.