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Share financial information to collect or pay support

Financial disclosure is the process of sharing information about your finances. The law requires parents and spouses/partners to disclose financial information to correctly calculate child support and spousal/partner supportspousal/partner support On this website, referring to both spousal support and partner support. after a separation.

The information you must share to calculate support is different from what you must share to divide property. Learn more on the Share financial information to divide assets and debts page.

On this page, “partner” refers to an adult interdependent partner.

Need to know

  • The law requires separated spouses/partners to share financial information when calculating child support or spousal/partner supportspousal/partner support On this website, referring to both spousal support and partner support..
  • The law sets out a checklist of financial information that you both must share with each other.
  • You must share financial information with each other in every year the payorpayor A person who pays money to another person. For example, a person who pays child support to the other parent. owes support.
  • You can share your financial information informally or formally.
  • You can take steps to force the other person to share their financial information if they are refusing or ignoring your requests.

Get started

Learn the basics about child support rules and spousal and partner support rules before you share financial information.

Next, review the special situations below to see if any apply to you.

You can black out (redact) personal contact information and employment contact information on documents you share with the other person.

You can share information about your income, assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans. at the same time as you share information to calculate support.

To learn more about what you must share for dividing property, visit the Share financial information to divide assets and debts page.

If you are a business ownerbusiness owner A person who is self-employed, is a partner in a partnership, or owns 1% or more of a corporation. and your business deducts expenses for income tax purposes, you must share more information about these deductions along with details of the income you took from the business that may not show on your personal tax returns. This is known as Cunningham Disclosure. Download a template for sharing your Cunningham Disclosure.

If you are responding to a request for retroactive child support or retroactive spousal/partner support, you should share financial information for all the years at issue.

For example, if the request is for retroactive child support going back five years, share financial information for all five years.

A parent with primary parenting who receives child support payments does not need to share their financial information with the other parent if they are only calculating Section 3 child support and are not asking for Section 7 child support. Only the payorpayor A person who pays money to another person. For example, a person who pays child support to the other parent. needs to share their financial information to calculate Section 3 child support. However, this situation is very rare.

Gather your documents

This list is a simplified version of the financial disclosure checklist the courts use.

Refer to the Financial Disclosure Statement form for all the details. If an item in the checklist does not apply to you, you do not have to share it.

  1. Documents that show how much money you made for each of the last three years, such as copies of your tax returns or, if you didn’t file a tax return, your tax slips
  2. Official documents from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for each of the last three years, such as notices of assessment and reassessment or CRA printouts of your income tax returns
  3. If you are an employee, documents that show your total earnings, including overtime
  4. If you are self-employed in an unincorporated business, details about certain cheques issued to you in the last six weeks, your business’ financial statements for the last three tax years, and details of moneys paid to you and certain other people for the last three tax years
  5. If you are a partner in a business partnership, written documents that show your income and draws from, and capital in, the partnership for its last three tax years
  6. If you have a 1% or more interest in a privately held corporation, financial statements for the corporation and its subsidiaries for the last three tax years, details of moneys paid to you and certain other people for the last three tax years, and shareholder’s loan records for the last 12 months
  7. If you are a beneficiarybeneficiary A person who receives income or property from a trust. An example of a trust is a deceased person’s estate. under a trust, copies of the trust settlement agreement and the trust’s last three financial statements
  8. If you are a student, a statement showing the total amount of student funding you received during the current academic year, including loans, grants, bursaries, scholarships and living allowances
  9. If you receive income from other sources, such as employment insurance, social assistance, a pension, workers’ compensation, disability payments or dividends, documents that show your current income
  10. For calculating child support, a detailed list of any special or extraordinary expenses, including official receipts and which parent paid them
  11. Copies of statements and cancelled cheques for the last six months for all bank accounts in your name solely or jointly
  12. Copies of statements for the last six months for all credit cards in your name solely or jointly
  13. Copies of statements for all investments, including RRSPs, pensions, term deposit certificates, guaranteed investment certificates and stock accounts, in your name or in which you have an interest
  14. A sworn list of your income, assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and liabilities
  15. Your monthly budget of expenses
  16. If you are also dividing family property, a list of any exemptions you are claiming

Share your financial information

Disclosing financial information is mandatory in a separation. It is in everyone’s best interests to voluntarily disclose their financial information without going to court.

If one spouse/partner is not sharing financial information, the other person can take steps to force them to do so.

Tips for sharing documents

  • Share copies of your documents but keep the originals for yourself.
  • Scanning a document or taking a photo of it with your phone are both acceptable ways to copy a document. Make sure the copy is of the whole document and is easy to read.
  • You can share your documents in different ways: email, on a physical hard drive, online via a secure sharing site, or by delivering physical copies in person or through mail.
  • If you are sending documents by email, use a secure personal account. It is not a good idea to use a work email as your employer can access this information. Make sure you type in the other person’s email address correctly and confirm with them that their email is also a secure personal account.
  • Keep a record of what documents you sent and how and when you sent them.

It is best if you and the other person can both agree when and how to share your financial information with each other. This can save you thousands of dollars in legal fees and months of waiting for court dates.

It is a good idea to use court forms to share information, even if you and the other person have a good relationship. Using court forms also makes it easier for you to share this financial information with any legal professionals you may need to work with during your separation.

How to share information with each other

  1. Agree on a deadline to share documents so that you know when to prepare yours for and when to expect the other person’s documents.
  2. Make copies of all documents you need to share from the list above.
  3. Complete the Financial Disclosure Statement form but don’t sign it.
  4. Bring your completed but unsigned form and copies of all your documents from step 2 to a Commissioner for OathsCommissioner for Oaths A person appointed by the Government of Alberta to administer oaths, certify a document is a true copy of another and witness the signing of legal documents to be used in Alberta only. For example, a person can swear/affirm an affidavit before a Commissioner for Oaths that will be used in Alberta. to swearswear To promise something is true before God. For example, to swear an affidavit means to promise before God that its contents are true./affirmaffirm To promise something is true and binding on your conscience. It is a non-religious option. For example, to affirm an affidavit means to promise its contents are true. that the information is true.
  5. Send a copy of the sworn form to the other person along with the documents you collected in step 2.

Once you and the other person share your documents, you can calculate child support or spousal/partner support yourselves or get help from a professional such as a collaborative lawyer, mediator or arbitrator.

If the other person is not voluntarily sharing their documents, you will have to take other steps.

If the other person is not cooperating, you can ask the court for help. Going to court should be a last resort as it takes time and money. There are other ways to resolve disputes without going to court.

The reason you need the other person’s financial information is to calculate child support or spousal/partner support. If the other person is not sharing their information, you can apply to court for an order about support without their input. Before you go to court, you must file your financial information with the court and serve it on the other person.

In court, the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. can:

  • order the other person to share their financial information by a certain date. This is known as a disclosure orderdisclosure order A court order that orders one person to share their financial information with the other person for the purposes of calculating support or dividing property, or both..
  • order the other person to pay costscosts Money the more successful party in a court proceeding can ask the justice to order the less successful party to pay. Costs reimburse the more successful party for having to go through the court process to get a resolution. to reimburse you for having to go to court to force them to share their financial information
  • order the other person to pay a penalty amount for every day they are late sharing all their financial documents
  • imputeimpute To assign a value to something. For example, the court can impute an income to a person who is not sharing their financial information. In doing so, the court estimates the person’s income for the purpose of calculating support. income to the other person and make an interim (temporary) child support or spousal/partner supportspousal/partner support On this website, referring to both spousal support and partner support. order based on that imputed income

The process for going to court depends on which court and law you are using.

Guided pathway

Find the right court and law

How to get a disclosure orderdisclosure order A court order that orders one person to share their financial information with the other person for the purposes of calculating support or dividing property, or both.

If you are applying in the Court of King’s Bench in Edmonton or Calgary, you must go to Family Docket Court. Learn more on the Go to Family Docket Court page.

Follow the three steps below if one of these situations applies to you:

  • you are applying in the Court of Justice
  • you are applying in the Court of King’s Bench outside of Edmonton or Calgary
  • the court has directed you to apply for a disclosure orderdisclosure order A court order that orders one person to share their financial information with the other person for the purposes of calculating support or dividing property, or both.
  1. Make copies of all documents you need to share from the list above.
  2. Follow the process on the Get or respond to a court order page. See either the section called “Deal with issues under the Family Law Act” or “Deal with issues under the Divorce Act”, depending on which law you are using. Complete the forms for child support and/or spousal/partner as well as the documents for sharing financial information.
  3. The court clerk will schedule a court date that is at least one month away. This gives the other person time to share their financial information with you beforehand.

If the other person has shared their financial information with you before the court date, the court can make a support order based on the information you both provided.

If the other person has not yet shared their financial information with you, the court can make a disclosure orderdisclosure order A court order that orders one person to share their financial information with the other person for the purposes of calculating support or dividing property, or both. or make an interim support order based on the information only you provided.

Update your financial information

To make sure the amount of child support or spousal/partner supportspousal/partner support On this website, referring to both spousal support and partner support. payments are correct, you and the other person should share your financial information with each other every year.

For example, it is a good idea to share financial information each year by June 30th, after you receive your notice of assessment for the previous tax year.

Send your financial information to the other person and ask them to do the same. It is a good idea to make your request in writing. Download a sample note and use it as a template to help you write your own.

If either of your financial situations have changed, you may need to recalculate child support or spousal/partner support.

Next steps

Potential issues

You do not know where to find your tax information.

Access tax documents for the last 12 years on your CRA My Account. If you do not have a CRA My Account, you can apply to open one. If you need older tax documents or cannot apply for a CRA My Account, contact the CRA at 1.800.959.8281.

You need professional help to gather documents and calculate income.

Finances can get complicated! You may need help from a lawyer, accountant or business valuator to sort through or gather all the documents.

One person is not following a disclosure orderdisclosure order A court order that orders one person to share their financial information with the other person for the purposes of calculating support or dividing property, or both..

Read your order to see if it says what to do if the other person does not follow it. This may include going back to court.

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