Financial disclosure in family law cases, don't hide; It's best to provide!

• Author: Dargatz, Sarah

Navigating the family law system without a lawyer can feel overwhelming, but many successfully find their way. One of the biggest stumbling blocks for self-represented individuals is a resistance to provide sufficient financial information.

In order to properly negotiate or litigate child support, spousal support, or matrimonial property, the parties need to have accurate information about each other's incomes, assets, and liabilities. Failing to provide such financial disclosure wastes time and money for everyone involved in the dispute. It's nearly impossible to even get started talking about how to resolve financial matters until the appropriate information has been shared.

Relevant and Material

The general rule of disclosure is: that which is "relevant and material" must be provided to the other party. This is defined in Alberta Rule of Court 5.2 as anything that:

"could reasonably be expected

(a) to significantly help determine one or more of the issues raised in the pleadings, or

(b) to ascertain evidence that could reasonably be expected to significantly help determine one or more of the issues raised in the pleadings."

A non-lawyer may find it difficult to know what falls into this category. Also, when relationships break down, emotions can cloud a party's sense of what is reasonable. The requesting party must balance the necessity of obtaining relevant financial information with seeking information for curiosity's sake or to be malicious. The providing party must balance the requirement to provide relevant information and the desire to keep finances private or to be difficult.

What is relevant and material will depend on each case, but information about one's income is always relevant for support and the information about the value of assets and debts is always relevant for property division. Other kinds of information may not be quite so obvious. For example, health information is usually not relevant. However, if someone is claiming they cannot work due to their health, then it is. So long as the information sheds light on a point in the dispute, it is likely relevant and material.

Generally, more information is better. This way, everyone, including the court, can feel confident that the outcome is fair. Unless there is some compelling reason to withhold the information, it's best to simply share it.

A Duty to Disclose

Sections 21-25 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines set out an obligation on parents to provide necessary...