In a lot of relationships, one party handles financial matters more than the other. This
might mean that one spouse files the taxes, pays the bills, decides what investments to
make, and so on. Perhaps this person is more financially savvy, this helps with an equal
division of labor, or this is just how it has always been. Regardless of the reason, we
have many clients who find themselves proceeding with divorce with very little
information on what their financial situation is as a married couple.

Part of a divorce involves dividing property. We have previously discussed the
presumption of equal property division in Wisconsin, and potential reasons to deviate
from this presumption, but how can we divide the unknown? We can’t. For that reason,
we first need to identify what debts and assets exist.

If you and your spouse are amicable, and the party with the information is willing to
share it, one option is to informally ask about the financial situation. Often, even if you
aren’t sure about what accounts exist, you may be able to tell if what is provided seems
accurate. If your spouse refuses to informally answer questions about finances, or you
have reason to believe they aren’t telling the full truth, you can work with your attorney
to serve them with “discovery”. Discovery can include “interrogatories”, “requests for
production”, and “requests for admission”. In other words, discovery can be a series of
questions, requests for documentation, and/or statements that your spouse has to
accept as true or deny.

Once your attorney properly serves discovery to your spouse, they will have 30 days to
respond. If they don’t, you can ask the Court to force them to do so. It is true that a
person could still lie, or omit information, but an evasive or incomplete response can be
subject to sanctions, so there an incentive to be honest. Additionally, common requests
for production include monthly bank statements, credit card statements, debt
statements, retirement statements, and so forth, so absent not providing them at all, the
documents generally speak for themselves. If you’ve historically been the spouse that
doesn’t handle the finances, and you’re worried about getting the full picture of your
marital assets and debts, discovery may be a useful tool in your case.