Affidavit of Means Ireland: How to Complete Form 37A for Divorce

The Affidavit of Means — Form 37A in paper proceedings, or Statement of Truth of Means on the Courts Portal — is the sworn financial disclosure every divorcing spouse must file in the Circuit Court. It's the single document that determines how the court understands your finances, and errors or omissions can derail your entire case.

Here's what each section requires and how to avoid the mistakes that cause adjournments.

The Five Schedules

The Affidavit of Means is structured into five mandatory schedules under Rule 70A of the Circuit Court Rules:

Schedule 1 — Assets: Every property, bank account (with account numbers and exact balances), investment, vehicle, business interest, and valuable personal item owned by you, whether solely or jointly. Include pension funds here too, with scheme names and current values.

Schedule 2 — Income: Gross and net income from all sources — salary, bonuses, overtime, rental income, dividends, state benefits (including Child Benefit and any social welfare payments). Self-employed spouses must include business income with supporting accounts.

Schedule 3 — Debts and Liabilities: Every outstanding mortgage, personal loan, credit card balance, overdraft, hire purchase agreement, and tax liability. Include the creditor name, outstanding balance, and monthly repayment amount.

Schedule 4 — Weekly Outgoings: Your itemised living expenses converted into weekly amounts — rent or mortgage payments, utilities, groceries, insurance, childcare, transport, and any other regular expenditure. The court requires weekly figures, so monthly bills need to be converted (multiply by 12, divide by 52).

Schedule 5 — Pension Entitlements: Full details of every occupational, private, and public sector pension — scheme name, type (defined benefit or defined contribution), trustees, and current estimated value or projected benefits.

The Vouching Process

Filing the Affidavit is only half the requirement. You must also "vouch" every figure with supporting documentation. In practice, solicitors exchange a standard set covering at least twelve months:

• Complete bank statements for every personal and joint account
• Credit card and credit union statements
• P60s or Employment Detail Summaries and consecutive pay slips
• Income Tax Returns and Revenue assessments (critical for self-employed spouses)
• Written property valuations from estate agents
• Pension benefit statements from scheme administrators

The County Registrar audits this documentation during case progression. Missing vouching documents can result in adjournments, cost penalties, or adverse inferences drawn against the non-disclosing spouse.

Common Mistakes That Cause Problems

Underreporting income: Leaving out irregular income like bonuses, overtime, or rental income. The court compares your declared income against your bank statements, and discrepancies get noticed.

Rounding expenses: Estimating weekly outgoings rather than calculating from actual bills. Judges and opposing solicitors look for figures that don't add up.

Forgetting assets: Failing to disclose a credit union account, an insurance policy with a surrender value, or a forgotten pension from a previous employer. Complete disclosure is a legal obligation — not just a best practice.

Informal formatting: Filing a handwritten or disorganised Affidavit when a structured, clearly formatted document would have served much better. While there's no requirement for professional formatting, clarity helps your credibility.

The Consequences of Non-Disclosure

Omitting assets from your Affidavit of Means isn't just an administrative error — it's a sworn document, and material omissions constitute perjury. If your spouse or their solicitor discovers hidden assets, the court can:

• Draw adverse inferences against you (assuming the hidden assets are more valuable than disclosed)
• Award costs against you
• Set aside the divorce decree entirely if the concealment was significant enough to undermine the court's assessment of proper provision

Preparing Before You File

The time to organise your financial disclosure is before you engage a solicitor — not during billable meetings. Gathering twelve months of statements, calculating weekly income and expenses, and creating a complete asset inventory is administrative work that doesn't require legal expertise.

The Ireland Divorce Financial Split Guide includes an Affidavit of Means pre-compiler that mirrors the five-schedule structure of Form 37A. You fill in each section with your actual figures, calculate the weekly conversions, and create a complete document-gathering checklist — so when you sit down with a solicitor or stand before a judge, your disclosure is thorough, consistent, and vouched.

See more Ireland guides →