5 Essential Documents to Gather Before Starting a Divorce

Identification and Vital Records

Identity is the foundation. A valid photo ID ties filings to the right person, while a certified marriage certificate pins the legal relationship to an exact start date. Birth certificates link kids to parents. If your name shifted after the ceremony, the court wants to see the link between then and now. When these pieces are missing, clerks stall, hearings slip, and small gaps turn into long delays.

Proof of Income and Employment

Money decisions lean on reality, not memory. Recent pay stubs show base pay, overtime, and those pretax deductions that quietly change take-home pay. Employment letters explain bonuses that hit in March or a commission schedule that spikes in December. Even in divorce online, calculators and reviewers need these specifics to test whether support requests fit the facts. Without them, numbers float, and floating numbers invite disputes that chew through weeks.

Banking, Credit, and Cash Accounts

Courts listen closely when statements speak. Twelve months of checking and savings reveal patterns a single page hides. Credit card histories separate ordinary expenses from one-time splurges. Health savings or flexible spending accounts show balances that pay for real things like 25 copays and 48 braces adjustments. Exact figures matter. A 2,430 checking balance at 9.14 a.m. on the first is sturdier than it was around twenty four hundred. Precision narrows the range of outcomes and keeps negotiations anchored to math.

Insurance, Benefits, and Retirement

Protection and future value hide in small print. Health, dental, and vision policies show who is covered and what the children’s share of the premium actually costs. That figure lands directly in support of math. Life insurance lists beneficiaries who may secure ongoing obligations. Retirement statements list vested balances as of a date certain, plus employer matches that follow plan rules. Pensions need plan summaries to carve out the marital portion. Stock plans come with vesting schedules that change month by month. If these records are fuzzy, long-term assets get overlooked or misvalued, and tax headaches show up six months after the ink dries.

Paper That Lowers The Temperature

Documents do more than fill a checklist. They calm rooms where feelings run hot. A pay stub dated last Friday ends a debate about overtime in fifteen seconds. A mortgage payoff letter blocks a kitchen table argument that might have lasted three hearings.

Specifics like 120 per week for groceries, 215 per week for summer childcare, and 86 for two pairs of size 4Y sneakers turn “needs” into numbers everyone can see. Whether you file in person or move pieces through divorce online, crisp paperwork turns a foggy season into a sequence you can follow. When the facts are clear, the path forward usually gets clearer too.