Planning for Divorce: Documents You Need and Other Considerations

1. Becoming a financial victim by not planning for your divorce.
2. Have copies of your marriage certificate, state/county/city/date of marriage.
3. Common mistake is relying more on the advice of family and friends than on your lawyer.
4. Common mistake is withholding information from your lawyer because you’re afraid of things you said or did will get you into trouble.
5. Common mistake is letting your emotions control your decisions, keep your emotions under control, use your head not your heart.
6. Not knowing your assets and their worth.  Real estate, cars, trucks, boats, jet-skis, household furniture, furnishings, bank accounts, investments, stocks, stock options, bonds, other securities, 401k, pensions, IRA’s, life insurance, annuities, oil and gas interests, royalties, antiques, guns, coins, jewelry, fine art, property owned prior to marriage, accounts receivable, investment property, rental properties, vacation homes.
7. Bringing an emotional attachment to assets.
8. Failure to Consider the Impact of Taxes.
9. Not Understanding the Rules of Retirement Accounts.
10. Overlooking Debt and Credit Rating Issues. Credit cards, debit cards, notes payable, loans, medical bills, utilities.
11. Get a copy of your credit ratings from all three companies.
12. Not Maintaining Control Over Insurance Policies
13. Failure to Accurately Budget
14. Failure to Identify Hidden Assets
15. Failing to include college costs for the children and impact of inflation

16. Failing to take into consideration Social Security Benefits
17. Failing to adequately insure the divorce settlement. If premature death or disability occurs this could affect spousal support, child support, college tuition of property settlement.
18. After divorce failing to change will and beneficiaries
19. Counting on your ex to honor financial commitments.
20. Failing to make a clean financial break.
21. Hanging onto the house at all costs.
22. Consider changing your name to maiden name.
23. Prepare for health coverage after the divorce.
24. If domestic violence has occurred: consider name change of children and social security numbers changed for children and wife/husband victim.
25. Vital documents you should have for the divorce.  Prenuptial agreement, Deeds, mortgages, closing statements, tax records/returns (5 years), real estate appraisals, pay stubs both spouses, bank statements, canceled checks, deposit slips (at least 5 years bank records), monthly expenses, home improvements, records of all sources of income, judgments against either spouse, judgments held by either spouse, records of previous child support payments, charge card statements 3 years, all promissory notes, car loan documents, dividend and interest statements, safe deposit box list of all contents make copies, documentation of any inheritance, loan applications (car, personal loan, any other), savings account statements, statements of certificates of deposits, IRA statements, trust documents, other documents sowing savings, life insurance policies, property and liability insurance policies, disability insurance policies, family hospitalization plan/insurance coverage, living wills, durable power of attorney for health care, durable power of attorney financial, advance health care directives, appointment diaries, U.S. Passports, copies of power of attorney, claims made for auto accidents/accidents at work, workers compensation claims, unemployment claims, claims against others for damage, resume of both parties, Keogh plan documents, 401K documents, pension plan records, business tax returns 5 years, business bank statements, canceled checks and deposit slips, business loan documents, business appointment diaries, advertising brochures and material given to prospective customers, partnership agreements and other business agreements, buy/sell agreements, business credit card records, corporate documents including by-laws, operating agreements, articles of incorporation, records filed with secretary of state, documents filed with SEC,  business cards, office/building leases, records showing business accounts receivable and accounts payable, business appraisals, business deeds, mortgage notes, profit sharing through employment documents, employment contracts.

Are Employment Cases Torts Under Ohio Law

Currently there is a split in Ohio Appellate Courts as to whether employment actions, such as age discrimination, ADA disability, gender, race, religious, GINA, sexual harrassment, national origin, retaliation and any other Title VII discrimination should be classified as "tort actions" in Ohio.

You may ask: What is a Tort Action?  A tort is a civil wrong committed by one person against another. There are three board cateogories of torts; intentional torts (battery, assault, false imprisonment,  intentional infliction of emotional distress, etc.); negligence; and strict liability.

Why does it matter? Well it matters if punitive damages are to be awarded in an employment discrimination suit.  In general there are two types of damages that are awarded in employment discrimination suits, compensatory damages and punitive damages.

If an employment discrimination suit is considered a tort action, then in Ohio, punitive damages have a tort cap and are limited to two (2) times compensatory damages.  If the employment suit is not a tort then there is no cap on punitive damages. Example: compensatory damages $3.5 million and punitive damages $43 million. In the example punitive damages would be 12 times compensatory damages.  In general punitive damages are usually in single digits (1-9) times compensatory damages but there is no limit if not a tort action.

Another affect on employment cases, if they are tort actions, is the tax liability the client's award would have.  If a tort then the award of damages is a personal injury to the client and as far as I know personal injury awards are not taxable to the client.  However, I am not a tax attorney and would like to have any CPA or tax attorney respond to this question.

A recent case October 2011, Luri v. Republic Services, Inc., 2011 Ohio 2389, 953 N.E.2d 859, Eighth Appellate District, Cuyahoga County decided this issue for the Eighth District.  Luri was a retaliation case.  The jury awarded $3.5 million in compensatory damages and $43 million in punitive damages for the largest retaliatory discharge verdict in Ohio history. However, the Eighth Appellate District held that the Ohio Tort Reform Act would apply to employment cases and therefore limited punitive damages to two (2) times the compensatory damages reducing the punitive damages to $7 million dollars from $43 million. (2 x $3.5 million compensatory = $7 million punitive).

I guess we will have to wait on the Supreme Court of Ohio to rule since there is a split in several of the appellate district courts.