When you’re married, you might keep some things to yourself – like a bank account where you save extra money for something special or a credit card that you use for buying gifts. While you might be able to keep some financial secrets while married, you will be required to disclose everything about your income, assets, debts, and expenses during a divorce. This must be done shortly after the divorce petition is filed. 

Under Colorado law, both spouses are required to file a Sworn Financial Statement (JDF 1111) within 42 days of filing for divorce. In addition, you must gather financial documents and provide them to your soon-to-be ex. A failure to do so can result in sanctions. Our Colorado Springs divorce lawyers can help you fill out the required paperwork and gather the appropriate documentation. We will also work to ensure that your ex also made a full disclosure.

Ascent Legal Group provides skilled legal representation to individuals and families across a range of Colorado family law matters. We are fierce advocates for our clients, working tirelessly to protect their interests. To learn more or to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with a Colorado family law attorney, reach out to our law offices today.

What Is JDF 1111?

The JDF 1111 is more commonly referred to as the Sworn Financial Statement. In Colorado divorce and legal separation cases, both parties are required to disclose certain financial information. This is done through the Sworn Financial Statement (JDF 1111).

Sworn Financial Statements are automatically required in every divorce or legal separation case. The goal of these disclosures is to provide transparency about marital and separate finances. Under Colorado Rule 16.2(e), parties in a domestic relations case “owe each other and the court a duty of full and honest disclosure of all affects” that affect their rights and interests and those of any children involved in the case. Under this rule, both parties are required to disclose financial information without being asked to do so.

Under these rules, each party must provide a Sworn Financial Statement and financial disclosures within 42 days after service of either a petition for dissolution or a post-decree motion that affects financial matters. Either party can then seek additional discovery related to the other’s finances.

The Sworn Financial Statement and accompanying asset schedules are a way to detail each party’s financial situation. This includes:

• Income
• Expenses
• Assets
• Debts

Each party is also required to provide financial disclosures or documentation to support the Sworn Financial Statement. This typically includes documents such as pay stubs, insurance policies, tax returns, loan documents, and bank statements. Depending on a person’s financial situation, it may also include other types of documents (such as property deeds or stock holdings).

Financial disclosures are key to ensuring that property division, spousal support, and child support orders are fair. For this reason, providing these disclosures is mandatory, even in uncontested divorces. Courts cannot enter a decree in a domestic relations case without the Sworn Financial Statements.

How to Complete Colorado’s Sworn Financial Statement

Financial disclosures in a Colorado divorce begin with the Sworn Financial Statement, JDF 1111. This document is 6 pages. You must complete all pages of the document, outlining your income, expenses, assets, and debts. The statement is then filed with the court and provided to your soon-to-be-ex.

To complete the Sworn Financial Statement, you will need to go through the document page by page and fill out each category of information requested. This includes detailed information on:

Monthly income

Monthly deductions (such as taxes and insurance)

Monthly expenses

Unsecured debts (such as credit cards)

Assets (real estate, motor vehicles, cash, life insurance, personal property, stocks, retirement accounts, other assets, and separate property).

As described below, it is incredibly important that you fill these forms out accurately. Our Colorado Springs divorce attorneys can work with you to complete the forms and gather the necessary information to properly comply with Colorado law related to financial disclosures.

Remember that the income, deductions, and expenses in Sections 1-3 are monthly. If you only know the annual amount, divide that annual amount by 12 to get your monthly number.  

In addition to the Sworn Financial Statement, you will likely be required to file JDF 1111 SS, or the Sworn Financial Statement Supporting Asset Schedules. These forms provide more detail about your assets. Specifically, this form must be filed when you have the following assets:

• Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, securities, and/or investment accounts;
• Pension, profit sharing, or retirement funds;
• Miscellaneous assets; or
• Separate property (It is critical that you list any property that you want to claim as separate here).

For each type of asset, you will be required to list specific information, such as the number of shares, the last 4 digits of the account number, and the current value.

Colorado also requires that copies of certain documents be provided to your ex. You do not have to file these documents with the court. Mandatory disclosures include the following:

• Income tax returns for the most recent 3 years;
• Personal financial statements for the last 3 years;
• Business financial statements for the last 3 years;
• Real estate documents;
• Personal debt;
• Investments;
• Employment benefits;
• Retirement plans;
• Bank/financial institution accounts;
• Income documentation;
• Employment and education-related child care documentation;
• Insurance documentation; and
• Extraordinary children’s expense documentation.

Essentially, if you listed anything related to your finances on the Sworn Financial Statement and Supporting Asset Schedules, you will need to provide documentation of the same to your ex. Generally, except for the items with specific time periods listed, you will have to provide the most recent documentation. For example, you might provide a copy of your most recent 401(k) statement to the other party.

Typically, these documents are disclosed digitally through the parties’ attorneys. This reduces the sheer volume of paper that can be generated by a divorce case. It can also ease the burden on the parties, as they can simply download a digital statement and upload it securely rather than obtaining paper statements and making copies.

Once all disclosures have been made, you will be required to file a Certificate of Compliance with the court. This statement certifies that the disclosures have been provided to the other party in accordance with Colorado law.  In other words, even though you won’t be submitting these financial documents to the court, you will be assuring the court that you did make the disclosures.

Keep in mind that you may need to update the disclosures over time. The initial disclosures are made within 42 days of a case starting. Even an uncontested divorce can take more than 6 months to finalize. Typically, courts will want to issue a decree based on more current information. Over time, you will likely have to make more than one round of financial disclosures.

The financial disclosure process can be burdensome, but it is critical to make sure that assets and debts are fairly divided between the parties in a divorce. Our Colorado Springs divorce lawyers will work with you to help you complete the JDF 1111 and collect all supporting documentation.

What Happens If One Party Doesn’t Provide Complete or Accurate Disclosures?

When a couple decides to get divorced, it is usually because their relationship is no longer working for them. This can often lead to a lot of tension and acrimony during the divorce process. Unsurprisingly, this can bleed over into things like financial disclosures.

It isn’t uncommon for one party to fail to provide complete, accurate financial disclosures. In some cases, this is due to laziness or sloppiness. In other cases, it could be due to a deliberate attempt to hide assets.

Generally, if you believe that your ex failed to disclose an asset or source of income that you believe exists, you will have to find and/or prove it. You and/or your lawyer will carefully review your ex’s financial disclosures to determine what may be missing or incomplete.  Your attorney may even engage an expert, such as a forensic accountant, to determine if certain documentation may be missing. 

If your ex hasn’t provided their disclosures or the disclosures are incomplete, your attorney may be able to address the issue by communicating directly with their lawyer or filing a discovery request. Otherwise, it may be necessary to get the court to intervene through a motion to compel. Possible remedies can include an adverse presumption (i.e., the court presumes something negative about the other party), exclusion of certain evidence, a contempt of court sanction, and/or a requirement to pay attorney’s fees.

If you believe that your ex lied on their financial disclosures, the first step is to gather evidence to support this allegation. Again, your Colorado Springs divorce attorney may use experts to help prove that your ex lied about their assets and/or income. You may then go to the court to seek one of the remedies described above. If a divorce decree has already been entered, then the court could potentially invalidate the settlement agreement and reallocate assets.

Finally, if one or both parties fail to submit a Sworn Financial Statement and supporting documentation, then the court will not enter a divorce decree. In other words, without the appropriate financial disclosures, you cannot get divorced. A court cannot divide property, approve a settlement agreement, or determine child support without this information. If one party attempts to delay a divorce by refusing to provide the disclosures, then the court may sanction them.

Contemplating Divorce? Reach Out for a Free Consultation.

When a couple files a petition for divorce, one of the first things that they will be required to do is provide exhaustive details about their finances. This step can be a lot of work, but it is necessary for property division, spousal support, and child support. Our law firm can help you with completing JDF 1111 and other necessary documents and advocate for your rights throughout the process.

At Ascent Legal Group, we advocate for individuals in divorce and legal separation cases in the Colorado Springs region. We know that divorce can be difficult emotionally, financially, and practically. We’re here to help. Call our law offices today at 719-256-0067 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with a Colorado divorce lawyer.