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Be on time. Get to court early so that you're not stressed out about having time to find parking, get through the metal detector, and find your courtroom. Give yourself enough time on your parking meter to wait as long as necessary for your case to be heard. (Especially with law and motion, lots of cases are scheduled for the same time and then taken one by one, so you may have to wait a while.)

Be prepared. Bring a pen and paper, so that you can take notes about what your spouse's lawyer says.

Gathering Information for Trial: Disclosures, Discovery, and Digging Up Dirt

The term "discovery" refers to the process by which each side asks the other for information before a trial. The discovery process is designed to promote fairness at trial by making sure the playing field is level and that neither side is surprised by information the other side withheld. Financial disclosures also promote settlement the more information you have, the better able you are to be creative (and realistic) about settlement options and to figure out your bottom line.

Mandatory Disclosures

In many states, family courts require that you disclose a long list of financial information to your spouse. You are then required to sign and submit to the court a form saying that you have complied with the local rules for disclosures. You'll probably be required to provide:

• recent pay stubs and other income-related information

• tax information-your returns, if you've filed separately from your spouse, but also any information in your possession related to accounts that you own or control, such as the annual report of interest earned on stocks

• recent statements from brokerage accounts

• recent bank statements

• current information about your retirement plans

• current information about any insurance you own, such as life or long-term care insurance

• documentation of obligations, such as student loans, car loans, equity lines of credit, and mortgage statements

• recent credit card statements, and

• information about financial opportunities that have come up since your separation, arising out of assets that you and your spouse own jointly (for example, you own stock that increases greatly in value during your separation, and your broker advises that it's an optimal time to sell).

Again, as soon as your lawyer asks you for this material, gather it up as quickly as you can. There's no benefit in waiting or in withholding information. You may not have all of the information at hand or at home, which means you'll need to get some of it from various financial institutions. If you do this work rather than having the lawyer or paralegal do it, you'll save yourself some money. You should be able to make phone calls or send letters or emails asking for current balances, account histories, or whatever else you might need. You have the right to information for any account that has your name on it. However, for information about accounts that have only your spouse's name on them, your lawyer may need to make formal requests using forms called "subpoenas," which have the force of law behind them, in order to figure out whether you own some share of those assets.

Requesting Information

If you don't get enough information from your spouse through the basic disclosures required by the court, or if your local court doesn't impose such requirements, you can make formal requests for information.

Interrogatories. Interrogatories are written questions that you send to your spouse, who then has a specified time (usually 30 days) to respond with answers or object to the questions. You can ask about anything related to the division of assets and debts, such as asking your spouse to list all existing interests in bank and brokerage accounts, or to list the names of all limited partners in a business your spouse is involved in.

Requests for Production. You have the right to ask your spouse for written financial records-tax returns, bank statements, brokerage statements,