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Q. We have a divorce agreement, so why is my wife's lawyer asking me for financial documents? |
Dear Donna,
My wife and I are getting a divorce and we have worked everything out between ourselves. I am keeping property that I owned before the marriage. Now, before signing our agreement, my wife has gone to see a lawyer and the lawyer is asking me for a lot of financial information. Why does the lawyer want all of this information and what are they trying to do? Will my separate property be protected? Should I call my wife and accuse her of going back on our deal? ~Worried in Washington
Dear Worried,
I'm glad you wrote! This is how to de-code what is happening: 1) your wife wants to have independent legal advice to assess the proposed arrangement to make sure that it is consistent enough with the law of your state and that there is nothing significant being overlooked, 2) the lawyer needs the financial information to make the requested assessment, 3) once the information is provided, the wisdom of your proposed agreement will either be confirmed or modifications may be indicated, 4) either way, your providing the information promptly and completely will help solidify and cement the deal. You can also get your own legal advice on the proposed deal.
Remember, your interest is in having a deal that stays closed. Often a deal that is "too good" for one party comes unraveled, at a far higher, ultimate cost. The basic principle in all family law is that when family members are making deals with each other, the deals should be fair to each party under the laws of the state. Here is the fairness test I use: given complete access to all of the pertinent information, factual and legal, does this proposed deal make sense for both parties? If they are choosing to give up certain rights, are they aware of this and making a conscious choice for their own reasons?
When you go through this process of providing the information and accepting the outside review, then you can have confidence that you will not face a later challenge to set aside a lop-sided deal.
Good luck!
Donna
This article is not legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you have legal questions that relate to your specific divorce.
