By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Published
Court forms are only a fraction of what you'll be asked for. The bigger job is the evidence behind them: years of statements, records and proof that turn your numbers into facts. Here is the full picture, in the order it's usually needed.
By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Published
Your marriage certificate is required for a divorce application in Canada — an original or certified copy, not a photocopy. If you married abroad, you may need a certified translation. Ordering a replacement can take weeks, so do it first if you can't locate yours.
Also gather: government photo ID, proof of your current address, and if you're separating rather than divorcing, anything that establishes the date of separation — a lease, a change-of-address confirmation, a dated message. That date drives a great deal of the math that follows.
In the United States, requirements are set by your state and often your county. A certified copy of the marriage certificate is commonly required, and most states use a standardized financial disclosure form or affidavit — some counties require additional local forms. Check your state court's self-help centre for the exact list, since two counties in the same state can differ.
Typically the last three years of tax returns and the corresponding notices of assessment, recent pay records, and any T4/T4A or equivalent slips. If you're self-employed or own a business, expect requests for corporate financial statements, shareholder loan records and business tax filings.
Anyone paying or receiving support should assume income documents will be requested every year, not once. Setting up a single folder now saves repeating the hunt annually.
US filers should expect requests for federal and state tax returns (commonly the last three years), W-2s and 1099s, recent pay stubs, and business returns where applicable. Canadian filers are usually asked for returns plus Notices of Assessment, which serve a similar verification purpose.
For each property: title or deed, the mortgage statement, a recent assessment or appraisal, and property tax records. For every account: statements for chequing, savings, investments, TFSAs, RRSPs and pensions — both current and at the date of separation, since many jurisdictions measure value at more than one date.
Also often needed: vehicle registrations and loan balances, life insurance policies with cash values, stock options or RSU statements, and documentation for anything you'll claim as excluded — an inheritance, a gift, or property owned before the relationship. Exclusions live or die on tracing, and tracing is a paper exercise.
Statements for every debt, including ones in a single name that were used jointly: credit cards, lines of credit, student loans, family loans. Also a realistic monthly budget — most financial statement forms require expense figures, and guessing badly here causes problems later.
If you have children: their birth certificates, school and childcare records, medical information, and any documentation of who has been handling appointments, drop-offs and expenses. In a contested parenting case, the day-to-day record often matters more than any single document.
Every letter from a lawyer, every settlement offer, every email that sets or changes a deadline. This is the category people manage worst, because it arrives gradually rather than all at once, and because each item feels minor in isolation.
It isn't minor. Offers get revised, deadlines get set inside paragraph six, and positions shift between versions. Six months in, the person who can produce the actual wording of what was proposed in March is in a materially stronger position than the person relying on memory.
At minimum: your original or certified marriage certificate, government ID, and the completed court application for your province. If you're asking the court to deal with property, support or parenting, you'll also need a financial statement supported by income, property and debt documents. Each province publishes its own forms — our province guides link to the official sources.
At minimum: a certified copy of your marriage certificate, photo ID, proof of residency in the filing state, and your state's petition or complaint form. If property, support or custody are involved, you'll also need a financial affidavit supported by tax returns, pay records, account statements and debt documentation. Requirements vary by state and sometimes by county — your state court's self-help centre lists the current forms.
Commonly the most recent 12 months, plus statements at the date of separation and sometimes at the date of marriage. If you're claiming an exclusion — money you brought in or inherited — you may need statements going back much further to trace it. When in doubt, keep more rather than less.
You have a legal right to disclosure, and courts take non-disclosure seriously. Gather what you can access lawfully — your own accounts, joint statements, copies of tax returns you signed — and tell your lawyer early what you can't reach. Do not access accounts you have no authority over; that can damage your position badly.
Marriage certificates generally must be original or certified. Almost everything else can be a clear copy or digital version, provided it's complete and legible — partial statements with pages missing are routinely rejected.
By category, with a running index, and keeping everything in a single place rather than across email, drawers and phone photos. The free checklist below walks the categories in order; if the correspondence is what's overwhelming you, that's precisely what SortMyDivorce automates.
Last reviewed July 2026. Researched and written by Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — laws, fees and forms change, so please confirm current details with the official sources above or a local family lawyer.
You can file the paperwork in a folder. Letters are different: they carry deadlines, revised offers and positions that shift. SortMyDivorce reads them and lays out every date and issue with its quote. $39/year.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and differ by jurisdiction — confirm specifics with a local family lawyer or your court's official website. If you use SortMyDivorce, your letters stay confidential — never shared, never sold.