Presentation by Meredith Lewis

Disclosure of assets and debts is an imperative part of any dissolution case. Under California law, it is required that each party prepare a declaration of disclosure, which sets forth all of the assets and debts that he or she is aware of. Generally one party has had control of the finances during the marriage, and so in order for the other spouse to make informed decisions during the dissolution case, he or she needs to obtain a better understanding of the marriage’s assets and debts.

Generally, parties are honest and straight forward in their preliminary declaration of disclosure, and as a result, attorneys fees and costs can be saved by settling the case. However, on occasion, one of both of the parties do not fully disclose everything, and as a result problems arise, which can be quite costly. With this, discovery will be necessary, and often a trial will be the end result. If one party hides, or does not disclose assets, the court has continuing jurisdiction to divide that asset, which sometimes ends up being awarded 100% to the other spouse.