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What’s New in Marital & Family Law in the Orlando, Florida Area?

On January 1, 2021, a series of family law changes became effective. Depending on your situation, these changes may help you with your case by enabling you to obtain more information from the opposing party. Here are some of those changes:

Mandatory Disclosure

There were changes to Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285, the rule on Mandatory Disclosure. Mandatory Disclosure determines which financial information you are required to produce to the other side in the case. The Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Disclosure spells out the financial documents you are required to produce to the other party. 

One change to Mandatory Disclosure is that each party must produce more financial documents to the other side. These financial documents include the past 6 months of pay stubs, which is a change that became effective on January 1, 2021. Previously, a party only had to produce the past 3 months of pay stubs. You are now required to produce this documentation for an extra 3 months. 

All Tax Forms Required

Another change is that the requirement for a party to provide tax returns now requires the production of all W-2s, K-1, 1099s, and other schedules. If you do not have a tax return, you can produce a transcript provided by IRS Form 4506T. You can find this information at IRS.gov by navigating to the box that says “Get Your Tax Record.” 

Other Financial Paperwork Changes

Parties are now required to file paperwork along with the financial affidavit to show where they got the value of the assets, debts, and income. You must be able to back up the claim that what you put on your financial affidavit is the true value of the asset or debt. Other financial record changes are as follows: you now must list your virtual currency, produce a credit report, and produce canceled checks for any account, including brokerage accounts that allow you to write checks.

No Need for Notarization

Further, you no longer need to have the Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Disclosure notarized. You still sign under oath subject to perjury and swear the document is true. However, you no longer need to search for a notary before you sign the document. This makes it much easier when COVID-19 guidelines are in place. The party can now sign the document without having to go to a location with a notary. It makes the process less burdensome and cumbersome to complete. 

If you have more questions regarding a Marital and Family Law matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.