Divorce checklist

By legacy · 52 items · v1 · 0 revisions · 1 view

Checklist to prepare for a divorce (based on http://www.divorcesense.com/prepared.htm)

General information

If you have young children, think about the damage you will cause to their lives before proceeding

Each spouse's name, date of birth and social security number

Names and birth dates of children

Date and place of marriage and length of time in present state

Information about prior marriages and children

Date of separation and grounds for divorce

Current occupation of spouses and name/address of employers

Education and degrees of each spouse

Name, address, and telephone number of attorney

Income of each spouse

Expenses of each spouse

Assets of the spouses

Liabilities of each spouse

Employee benefits each spouse is entitled to

Life, health, and disability insurance policies owned by each spouse

Credit reports

Property settlement

Do any prenuptial agreements exist?

Do spouses reside in a community property state?

Have all assets been listed, valued, and classified?

Have the tax bases of all assets been determined?

If assets will be transferred or sold, have tax consequences been calculated?

Have loans and other liabilities on the properties (or otherwise) been listed and considered?

Is there a (family) business?

Alimony and child support

Have tax consequences of classifying support as alimony or child support been reviewed?

Has physical custody of children been determined?

Has legal custody of children been determined?

Have visitation parameters been established for the noncustodial parent?

Has it been decided which spouse will get dependency exemption?

Will alimony be paid?

Marital home

Will home be transferred to either spouse as part of settlement?

If yes, has cost basis been reviewed for improvements?

Has amount of outstanding mortgage been calculated

ill the principal residence be sold to a third party?

If yes, has the tax cost (if any) been computed?

Retirement planning

Have retirement plans been listed and interests in retirement plans been reviewed?

Will the divorce decree provide a payout from the plan? If so, will a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) be used?

Should beneficiary designations be changed?

ill any IRS penalties apply?

Can retirement money be rolled over to IRA

Tax planning

If already divorced, was divorce finalized by year-end?

If still married at year-end, agree to file jointly?

Have joint filing risks been discussed?

Has separate maintenance decree been obtained to permit filing as unmarried or head of household?

Have head of household conditions been met?

Who will claim the dependent child exemption?

Who should claim for the largest financial benefit?

Other

Should will and trust be changed?

Should insurance policy beneficiaries be changed?

Should banks and other creditors be notified of divorce and signatures changed?

Will either spouse's health insurance plan cover the children post-divorce? Cover spouse?

Has budget been revised to account for changes in income and liabilities?

Does credit need to be repaired or established?