How To Create A Divorce Expense Worksheet

By Diane Sanders


Handling divorce is a stressful procedure spouse across the world undergo. There are various activities that take place during proceedings whether you decide to settle the matter in court or out of court. The most important factor the court or parties involved consider is financial stability of spouses after separation. Legal experts determine the separation of assets, payment of alimony and child support. To complete this process, spouses are required to come up with detailed divorce expense worksheet.

Spouses engaged in separation, prepare spreadsheets and submit it before a judge. A spreadsheet contains columns for pre-divorce monthly income and expenditure. It also contains other columns for estimated income and expenses during post-divorce. A well-prepared spreadsheet helps the judge to identify the ability of a spouse to pay child support and alimony. The court is able to determine if a spouse needs financial support.

A spreadsheet can be completed at different time frames during court proceedings. The ability to prepare the document depends on the financial status of an individual or change of financial circumstances. Most spouses utilize computer applications to prepare a budget. Applications are easy to use and guarantee accurate calculations. Spreadsheet entries are presented as numbers, meaning your calculations are translated to dollars. Spreadsheets contain formulas which ease calculation procedures.

Preparing a financial report is not easy especially for anyone going through a separation. However, one must overcome emotional ties when creating worksheets. Pay attention to important matters like your source of income. The court requires details on how you earn finances. It is difficult to keep track of your income sources if you have been employed many times. Use your income tax report to identify income sources you have relied on for at least three years.

Write down individual tax returns on the spreadsheet. It is natural for spouses to file tax returns jointly. Keep in mind, tax returns will be filed separately after marriage annulment. If you are unemployed, avoid listing sources of income until you can confirm steady flow of income. If you are already separated and receive financial support in form of alimony or child support from your spouse, make sure to list the amount.

Your expenditure history is an important factor to consider before submitting a financial report to the court. Write down the amount of cash you spend on various things such as insurance, utility bills, and mortgage. Other expenses such as gym membership, entertainment or vacations should be listed. Remember, you can choose to forego extra expenses for some time to reduce your expenditure.

Once you have come up with an expenditure list, add everything inclusive of extra expenses. The items you wish to do without should be calculated in order to get actual expenses. Calculate the cost of basic expenses and subtract the total amount with that of extra expenditure. Determine if cutting off extra expenses helps you save money or not depending on your income.

Now, that you have created a budget, you need to put extra effort to stick to it. Remember, changes made on your expenditure should not be permanent. You only need to go without some items for a while as you get started after marriage annulment. Creating an expense worksheet does not require any special skill, but if you have difficulty with a budget consider hiring an attorney.




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