Any family law case in Illinois which involves financial issues will require the parties to exchange Financial Disclosure statements. The Financial Disclosure statement is designed to tell the court, in a snapshot, what your income, property, expenses and debts look like at a particular moment in time, on a monthly basis. Since financial situations can be extremely fluid, the financial snapshot can change during the progress of a case and as a result, these disclosure statements are often updated throughout a family law matter. These are used in pre-decree dissolution of marriage cases, child support, college expenses cases as well as in post-decree litigation and for enforcement proceedings.
The financial affidavit is a sworn statement, meaning, that the person drafting and approving the document, who signs their name on it, swears or affirms that the contents are true. Thus, it is extremely important to ensure that the statement is as accurate as possible. These documents are very time consuming, as a person typically has to go through all of their paystubs, tax returns, bank and credit card statements as well as receipts for cash payments, if any, in drafting this disclosure statement. This ensures that the document is as accurate as possible, and is worth it, to ensure that one is not subject to monetary or other sanctions when the disclosure is examined by opposing counsel and ultimately, the Judge, at a hearing.
