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Family law disclosure checklist
The documents firms most commonly ask for in property matters, grouped by type, with notes on what usually goes missing. Use it with your team or share it with clients.
Disclosure must be full and frank, and what a particular matter needs depends on its issues. Use this list as a starting point, and check the duty of disclosure and the court's current rules for each matter.
Income and tax
Three years is a common starting point for tax documents. Check what the current rules and the matter require.
- Income tax returns and notices of assessment
- Payslips, or a year-to-date income statement
- Records of other income: rent, investments, government payments, overseas income
- Fringe benefits, such as a car or salary packaging
Bank and credit accounts
List each account separately and state the period each statement should cover. Include accounts closed around the time of separation.
- Statements for every transaction, savings and offset account, in any name
- Credit card statements
- Buy now, pay later and personal loan accounts
- Accounts held jointly with someone other than the other party
Real property
- Title searches for each property
- Current mortgage or loan statements
- Recent appraisals or valuations
- Leases and rental income records for investment properties
Superannuation
Include small funds from previous jobs. Self-managed funds need their own records.
- Latest statement for every super fund
- Superannuation information request form, where required for valuation
- For a self-managed fund: financial statements, tax returns and the trust deed
Investments and other assets
- Shares and managed funds: holding statements
- Cryptocurrency: exchange and wallet records
- Motor vehicles, boats and caravans: registration and an estimate of value
- Life insurance policies with a surrender value
- Valuable items such as jewellery, art or collections
Businesses, companies and trusts
These are often the most incomplete part of disclosure. Ask for the entity's records, not only the client's own tax return.
- Financial statements and tax returns for each entity
- Business activity statements (BAS)
- Company searches and constitutions
- Trust deeds, and records of distributions
- Partnership agreements
- Loan accounts between a party and an entity
Debts and liabilities
- Statements for every loan, including car loans and personal loans
- Tax debts and payment arrangements
- Loans from family members, with any written agreement
Around the separation
- Records of property sold, transferred or given away before or since separation
- Significant withdrawals or transfers after separation
- Inheritances, gifts or compensation received, or expected
- The financial statement, where one is required