What documents should I gather before filing for divorce?

Collect the financial record of the marriage: recent tax returns, pay stubs, statements for every bank, brokerage, and retirement account, deeds and mortgage statements, vehicle titles, credit card and loan balances, and insurance policies. California requires each spouse to disclose all of it under Family Code section 2104, so gathering early prevents delay.

Start with the financial record of the marriage, because California will require it anyway. Family Code section 2104 obligates each spouse to serve a preliminary declaration of disclosure listing all assets, debts, income, and expenses — community and separate alike — early in the case, and Family Code section 2100 declares full disclosure a matter of state policy. Useful gathering: the last two or three years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, statements for every bank, brokerage, retirement, and pension account, deeds and mortgage statements, vehicle titles and loans, credit card balances, business records if either spouse owns one, and life and health insurance policies. Copy documents before separation while access is easy; hiding or omitting an asset can cost the concealing spouse the entire item, as sanctions cases under Family Code section 1101 show. Also note dates — marriage, separation, and major purchases — since property character often turns on timing.

Authority: Cal. Fam. Code § 2104