Divorce checklist

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
  • item

• 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?
  • Stop the me...me...me... attitude and consider the childrens' feelings
  • Work it out until the children are 18 years old, and then go back on your promise of "until death do you part"
  • How about you split your belongings between two locations and schedule your life living here or there every other weekend; I'm sure you'll just love it.

• 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?