Many clients do not have the time or inclination to organize their financial documentation, and most family law attorneys spend countless hours with support staff sifting through disorganized piles of checking and savings account statements, cancelled checks, quarterly statements, and so on.

This author has received financial documentation that was organized, separated, and tabbed by the client and this author has also received boxes of loose and completely shuffled documentation. Needless to say, I always advise clients to organize their paperwork in advance for three basic reasons:

While many of the clients can very well afford to have their attorney’s office organize their documentation for them, most successful business people organize their own paperwork for the foregoing three reasons.

Of course, organizing your financial records not only gives you control over the information, but it is also appreciated by your attorney as well. While most family law attorneys have personnel who are extremely adept at organizing documentation for a divorce, previously organized documentation saves time and allows your attorney’s office to concentrate on other more constructive matters important to your divorce case.

If you wish to organize your financial records before consulting counsel, these suggestions should prove useful:

Understand what the attorney needs before it is produced.