Every family law case requires the parties to create financial disclosure statements (sometimes called financial affidavits). These documents are sworn statements that disclose the parties’ income, expenses, assets, and debts.
In most states, these statements must be filed with the court.
Every state provides either general guidance or a specific format that must be followed by the litigants, attorneys, and other professionals.
The information collected in the financial statement is crucial for determining the available income for child support, spousal maintenance, and the division of property.
These forms are not taken lightly by clients or practitioners. Ultimately, the client is swearing the information in the disclosure is accurate, complete, and formed after a reasonable inquiry into their finances. Failure to include income or assets could be detrimental to the client’s credibility and final resolution of the case.
Divorce professionals help their clients with these forms.
Family Law Software helps these professionals help their clients.
How Family Law Software Helps
First, the software provides an online Client Data Entry module, so clients can fill in the information electronically. The information then flows directly to the form that the professional uses.
Second, Family Law Software provides copious help to enable professionals to understand what goes where.
Third, the software uses that information to prepare property division worksheets, child support calculations, and extensive “What If” analysis.
Fourth, the software does detailed budgeting and projections of cash flow and net worth.
All of these things can help clients understand their situations and alternatives, help them make better decisions, and help them reach settlement.
Forms Mode
Now, Family Law Software has made the process of completing the forms even easier with its new Forms Mode.
Forms Mode removes the extra data entry fields — which may relate to tax aspects, proposed division of the asset, or aspects relating to the growth of assets – and show just the fields on the official disclosure statement.
This simplification of the online data entry screens allows the divorce professional to focus on just the financial disclosure form, when they want to do so.
Forms Mode also uses the sequence and format of the official forms, so the divorce professional can use the format with which they are familiar. This helps them work both more quickly and more accurately.
When the professional is ready to use the full power of Family Law Software for budgeting, cash flow, taxes, and property division, the professional can switch from Forms Mode back to Plan Mode, which is the software’s traditional full-featured mode for collecting all the data relevant to the case.
Best of Both Worlds
Now Family Law Software users have the best of both worlds: speedy entry for the financial statement in Forms Mode; and complete property-division, budgeting, and financial projections for negotiating, presenting a powerful case, and getting the parties to agreement in Plan Mode.
Forms Mode is available in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Coming soon to California and other states.
If Forms Mode is available in your state, you will see the Forms Mode button at the top of the screen when you next log in. Desktop users may need to update their program to get Forms Mode.
Want to learn more? Visit our YouTube channel for a video on Colorado Forms Mode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzIjNQFsdQc