Financial disclosure is the process of sharing information about your finances. The law requires spouses and adult interdependent partners to disclose financial information to correctly divide their 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. after a separation.
The information on this page applies to spouses and partners only. The law is different for unmarried couples who are not adult interdependent partners.
The financial information you must share to divide 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. is different from what you must share to calculate child support or spousal/partner supportspousal/partner support On this website, referring to both spousal support and partner support.. Learn more on the Share financial information to collect or pay support page.
On this page, “partner” refers to an adult interdependent partner.
Need to know
- The law requires spouses/partners to share financial information when dividing their 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. after separating.
- The law sets out a checklist of financial information that you both must share with each other.
- You must continue to share financial information with each other, including about 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. you acquire after separation, until you have an agreement or order dividing your property.
- 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 the rules for dividing everything up before you share financial information.
Then, there are a few other things you should know to get started.
Figure out which law to use
Both Alberta’s Family Property Act and general property principles apply to dividing property. Which law you use depends on the legal status of your relationship.
Guided pathway
Not sure which court and law to use? Find out!
Rules for special situations
You can black out (redact) personal contact information and employment contact information on documents you share with the other person.
You can share information for these calculations at the same time as you share information about your property.
To learn more about what you must share to calculate support, visit the Share financial information to collect or pay support 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., your business is family property. Get help from a lawyer about what financial information you need to share about the business and how to divide this property.
Gather your documents
The law says you must share the following:
- A list of all assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments., including real estate, vehicles, financial assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments., pensions and RRSPs, corporate and business interests, and other valuables such as jewelry or collections. Include property you still owe money on, such as a home with a mortgage or a leased car.
- A list of debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans., including credit cards, loans, financed vehicles and mortgage balances still owing.
- An estimation of the value, if known, of all the 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.. You can get a formal appraisal for large property like the family home. You can estimate the value for other property by comparing it with items for sale online. Be prepared to explain how you estimated the value.
- Copies of any appraisals you relied on to estimate the value of the family home and other valuable items.
- A list of what you believe is exempt property, including why you think it should be exempt from division, its current value and the increase in value since you and the other person started living together or got married (whichever came first).
- Current bank statements, investment statements, RRSP and pension statements and other documents that can prove the current value of property.
- Details for property in only one person’s name, including sole bank account balances.
You may have to contact your bank, mortgage company, pension plan group, investment banker, accountant and others to help you gather your financial information and estimate the value of your 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..
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.
Both you and your spouse/partner must go through this process in good faith. Sometimes one person does not know about assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. or debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans. the other person has. This is a time to be honest with each other about what you both own, jointly and separately.
It is also a good idea to start right away. Sharing financial information and dividing your 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. as soon as you can after the separation allows both people to know what property is theirs.
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
- You can black out (redact) all but the last four digits of accounts numbers as well as Social Insurance Numbers (SINs) for you and any new partners.
- 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.
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 divide your property. If the other person is not sharing their information, you can apply to court for an order about dividing your property 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
- make an interim (temporary) order about dividing property
You can only apply for an order about dividing property in the Court of King’s Bench.
If you are applying in Edmonton or Calgary, you must go to Family Docket Court. To learn what to do, read the Go to Family Docket Court page.
Follow the steps below if one of these situations applies to you:
- 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.
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.
- Make copies of all documents you need to share from the list above.
- Follow the process under the heading called “Divide property using the Family Property Act” on the Get or respond to a court order page.
- 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 an order dividing property 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 order dividing property based on the information only you provided.
Update your financial information
If you have not yet finished dividing your 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. and it’s been a year since you last shared financial information, you and the other person should share updated information with each other.
Doing so allows you or the court to make a decision with the most current information. It may also reveal if someone is improperly using an asset, such as getting rid of money they shouldn’t be.
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.
Potential issues
You do not know where to find 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.
Your online banking records don’t go back far enough to list all the statements you need.
Usually bank websites have a separate section where you can go to download individual monthly statements. This section often lets you get statements older than the search on the main account page.
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.