Bank Statements in Divorce

During a divorce, courts may look at a lot of information and evidence in order to ensure that people receive a just result when the divorce is finalized. Bank statements often become an important piece of information to look at.In some cases, courts may order that the parties voluntarily exchange bank statements. In other cases, the parties may agree to exchange them by consent. There are other cases where the parties may issue requests for production upon each other to produce the bank statements.Some parties going through a divorce may have joint bank accounts, while other parties may have had separate bank accounts during their marriage. This can lead to different levels of concern regarding the bank statements and also different levels of need to exchange the bank statement information.

What kind of information can bank statements show? Why are they important in a divorce case? These are some questions that many parties would ask.

Bank statements can show deposits into an account as it relates to spousal support and child support. They can be relevant where the parties’ income is disputed. This is especially true where commission, tips or income from secondary employment is involved.

Spending habits can also show up on bank statements. This can be important as it relates to the expenses of parties in a divorce and the expenses can be important when trying to determine spousal support or child support.

Parties may either need to show recent bank statements or they may need to look at bank statements that go back some period of time. Each divorce case is different and each case will have different needs.