Financial Inventory & Division

The financial inventory is the foundation of everything in divorce — you can’t divide what you haven’t identified. This lesson helps you build a complete picture of your marital finances using AI to organize the dozens of accounts, documents, and values involved.

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, you learned your state’s divorce framework — property division system, filing requirements, and key early decisions. Now you’ll build the financial inventory that makes division possible.

The Complete Financial Inventory

Asset Inventory Prompt

Help me build a complete financial inventory for my divorce:

What I know about our finances:
- Bank accounts: [list what you know]
- Retirement accounts: [401(k), IRA, pension — list what you know]
- Property: [home, vehicles, other]
- Investments: [stocks, bonds, crypto, etc.]
- Business interests: [if any]
- Valuable personal property: [jewelry, art, collections]
- Insurance policies: [life, whole/universal with cash value]

Help me:
1. Organize these into categories (real property, financial accounts,
   retirement, personal property, business interests)
2. Identify what's likely MARITAL vs SEPARATE property
3. Flag assets I might be forgetting (common overlooked assets)
4. Create a document checklist — what statements and records do I need?
5. Note which assets need professional valuation

Commonly Overlooked Assets

✅ Quick Check: Your spouse started a small business during the marriage that now generates $80,000/year. Is it a marital asset? (Answer: Almost certainly yes. Businesses started during the marriage are generally marital property. Valuing a business is complex — it requires a professional business valuation considering income, assets, goodwill, and growth potential. Don’t accept your spouse’s estimate of what the business is worth. Hire a certified business valuator.)

The Debt Inventory

Debts are divided too — not just assets.

Help me inventory all marital debts:

Known debts:
- Mortgage: [balance, whose name, monthly payment]
- Car loans: [balance, whose name]
- Credit cards: [balances, whose name, joint or individual]
- Student loans: [balance, whose name, when acquired]
- Medical debt: [if any]
- Personal loans: [if any]
- Tax obligations: [back taxes, payment plans]

For each debt, help me determine:
1. Is it marital or separate debt?
2. Who is legally responsible (whose name is on the account)?
3. What happens to this debt in divorce in [my state]?
4. What's the total monthly debt obligation?

Important: Being on a joint debt means you’re responsible regardless of what the divorce agreement says. If your divorce decree assigns a joint credit card to your spouse and they stop paying, the credit card company can still come after you. The solution: close joint accounts and refinance debts into individual names during the divorce process.

Document Gathering Checklist

Create a divorce document checklist for my situation:

Our finances include: [brief summary]
We have children: [yes/no]
We own property: [yes/no]
Either of us owns a business: [yes/no]

Generate a prioritized checklist of documents I need to gather:
- Tax returns (how many years?)
- Bank statements (how many months?)
- Retirement account statements
- Property records (deed, mortgage, tax assessment)
- Pay stubs and employment records
- Insurance policies
- Debt statements
- [Other based on my situation]

For each document, tell me where to find it if I don't have it

Practice Exercise

1. Start your financial inventory using the asset prompt — focus on listing everything you know, then flag what you need to investigate
2. Run the debt inventory prompt — are there any debts you’d forgotten about?
3. Begin gathering documents from the checklist — prioritize items that take longest to obtain (tax returns, retirement statements, property appraisals)

Key Takeaways

• You can’t divide what you haven’t identified — a complete financial inventory is the foundation of fair divorce outcomes
• Commonly overlooked assets include stock options, pension values, business interests, digital assets, and prepaid expenses — AI helps you systematically identify what you might be missing
• Joint debts remain your legal responsibility regardless of what the divorce decree says — close joint accounts and refinance during the process
• Document everything: bank statements, tax returns, pay stubs, and property records for at least 3-5 years back
• If your spouse controls the finances, you’re still entitled to full disclosure — your attorney can compel it through discovery
• Professional valuations are necessary for complex assets (businesses, pensions, real estate) — don’t accept estimates

Up Next

In the next lesson, you’ll tackle the most emotionally charged part of many divorces — custody and co-parenting plans that prioritize your children’s stability.