Financial Disclosure and the Family Law Rules

Section 56(4)(a) of the Family Law Act depicts the importance of having full financial disclosure in family law matters.

It states that if one of the parties fail to provide full financial disclosure to the other, any agreement made between the parties may be set aside. Failing to adhere to section 56(4)(a) of the Family Law Act squanders any opportunity at achieving fair, cost-effective, and final results in any family law proceeding.

Rule 13 of the Family Law Rules is intended to ensure that parties provide full and adequate financial disclosure to each other. For instance, rule 13(1) of the Family Law Rules requires that a party making any sort of claim grounded in support, property, or exclusive possession, must serve a financial statement along with the claim. However, an exception to 13(1) is when the applicant only makes a claim for child support and does not include any claim with respect to property or exclusive possession.

Rule 13(10) is another rule intended on forcing the parties to make full financial disclosure as it states that the court clerk is prohibited from accepting an application, answer, reply, notice of motion, or affidavit in response to filing if the Rules require that a financial statement accompany the document stating the claim, and no financial statement has been provided.

Rule 13(11) furthers the obligation to provide adequate financial disclosure by permitting the court to order that if a party has not responded to a request for further information with seven days, that the party give the requested information or serve a fresh financial statement.

To learn more about financial disclosure as well as the services provided by Krol & Krol, call 905.707.3370 today.