Divorce Asset Checklist: 47 Documents to Gather Before You File

If you think your marriage is heading toward divorce, the single most protective thing you can do — before you tell anyone, before you hire a lawyer, before you file anything — is quietly gather the paperwork that shows what you actually own together. Research has consistently found that a meaningful share of divorcing spouses hide assets or underreport income — estimates commonly land in the 25–40% range. The people who walk into mediation with organized documents are the ones who walk away with a fair split.

This checklist covers the 47 documents that touch nearly every asset class a court, mediator, or attorney might ask about. You don’t need all of them perfectly organized to start. You need to start.

Why document before you file

Documentation isn’t about building a case for war. It’s about being ready so nothing can quietly disappear between today and your first mediation session.

In practice, that means you’ll be looking for:

• A clear list of what exists. Accounts, properties, vehicles, retirement funds, insurance, business interests.
• Recent values. Statements, appraisals, balances as of a recent date.
• A trail of large or unusual moves. Wire transfers, withdrawals, new accounts, gifts to family members.

If you can show those three things calmly and in writing, you’re already ahead of most people walking into a divorce.

A note on safety: If there’s any chance your spouse monitors joint accounts or has access to your devices, gather documents on a device and email they don’t have access to. A trusted friend’s address or a password manager you control. Be careful with paper copies at home.

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The 47-Document Checklist

The list is grouped by asset type so you can work through it in chunks rather than all at once.

1. Bank & Cash Accounts (8 documents)

1. Checking account statements — last 12 months for every account either of you holds
2. Savings account statements — last 12 months
3. Money market account or certificate of deposit (CD) statements
4. Credit card statements — last 12 months for every card
5. Personal line of credit or HELOC statements (if linked to a bank)
6. Records from payment apps — Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, Cash App
7. Safe deposit box inventory (location, box number, what’s inside if known)
8. Records of any large transfers, cashier’s checks, or wires in the last 24 months

2. Tax Documents (4 documents)

9. Federal tax returns — last 3 years (all schedules, not just the 1040)
10. State tax returns — last 3 years
11. W-2s and 1099s — last 3 years (for both spouses if filed jointly)
12. IRS tax transcripts — last 3 years (a free backup if returns are missing)

3. Real Estate (7 documents)

13. Mortgage statements — current, for the primary residence and any other properties
14. Home equity line of credit (HELOC) statements
15. Property deed(s) — primary home, vacation home, rental property, land
16. Closing statement from the original purchase
17. Property tax bills — last 2–3 years
18. Rental property leases and rental income records
19. Home appraisal reports — most recent one available

4. Vehicles & Transportation (4 documents)

20. Vehicle titles for every car, motorcycle, boat, or RV in either name
21. Auto loan statements — current payoff balance for each
22. Vehicle registration documents
23. DMV title history (in many states you can request this for a small fee — useful if you suspect a recent transfer)

5. Retirement & Investment Accounts (8 documents)

24. 401(k), 403(b), or TSP statements — most recent
25. Traditional IRA statements
26. Roth IRA statements
27. Pension plan documents (including any “vested” benefit statements)
28. Stock option or RSU grant agreements and current vesting schedules
29. Brokerage account statements (Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, etc.)
30. Mutual fund or ETF statements (including those held inside an old 401(k))
31. Annuity contracts — especially any with cash surrender value

6. Insurance (6 documents)

32. Life insurance policies — face amount, cash value, and named beneficiaries
33. Health insurance plan documents (in case COBRA coverage becomes relevant)
34. Auto insurance policies
35. Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policies
36. Umbrella insurance policies
37. Long-term care insurance policies

7. Business Interests (5 documents)

38. Business tax returns — last 3 years (if either spouse owns a business or has an ownership stake)
39. Business bank statements — last 12 months
40. Profit and loss statements (or year-end financials)
41. Partnership, operating, or shareholder agreements
42. Business credit card statements

8. Personal Property of Value (3 documents)

43. Jewelry or watch appraisals (especially engagement ring, family heirlooms)
44. Art, antique, or collectible appraisals
45. Cryptocurrency wallet records or exchange statements (Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini — including any hardware wallets)

9. Debts & Liabilities (2 documents)

46. Personal loan agreements (loans from family members count)
47. Student loan statements — current balance and which spouse originally borrowed

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How to gather documents safely

A few practical notes from people who’ve done this:

• Go paperless first. Most banks and brokerages let you download 7+ years of statements as PDFs. Do this from your own computer or phone before anyone gets suspicious.
• Use your own accounts. Log in as yourself for shared or jointly accessible accounts. Screenshot statements dated within the last few weeks — they show current balances.
• Photograph what’s not printable. Safe deposit boxes, jewelry in a drawer, art on the wall, vehicles in the driveway. Time-stamped photos are weak documentation — a timestamped photo paired with an appraisal, receipt, or insurance rider is strong documentation.
• Don’t move money. Pulling funds out of joint accounts, even with good intentions, can backfire legally. Read and copy first. Move later, with advice.
• Skip what you can’t get. If a statement from 2017 doesn’t exist anymore, note that you tried, move on, and don’t fabricate a number.

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What to do if a document doesn’t exist or is “missing”

This happens more often than people expect. A few calm options:

• Request an IRS transcript at irs.gov if prior tax returns are unavailable — it’s free and gives you the headline numbers.
• Ask the employer or plan administrator directly for retirement balances if you don’t have recent statements.
• Check insurance carrier portals for in-force policies — most carriers keep digital records for years.
• Pull a credit report at annualcreditreport.com. It lists every open account in either spouse’s name and often surfaces things one spouse forgot about.

A clean list of “we tried to find this and here’s what happened” is dramatically better than silence.

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A calmer way to start

If reading this list made your stomach drop — because you don’t have any of it — that’s normal. Most people don’t.

You don’t need to do all 47 tonight. Pick the four categories with the largest assets (usually bank, retirement, real estate, business) and start there. Anything visible in your own statements is fair game. Anything that requires going through a joint login, plan carefully.

A tool that helps you document what’s in the home — photograph items, get a current value estimate, and produce a report you can hand to an attorney — is halfyourstuff.com. It’s built for exactly the 48 hours after a decision gets made, when you want a calm, organized record without having to become an expert first.