Massachusetts Divorce Financial Statement

In a Massachusetts divorce where financial relief is requested, each party must file a financial statement with the Probate and Family Court. It's not optional, and the numbers you put on it carry real consequences — you're signing under penalty of perjury, and the court uses your statement to decide property division, alimony, and child support.

Short Form vs. Long Form: The $75,000 Threshold

Supplemental Rule 401 of the Probate and Family Court requires one of two forms based on your gross annual income:

• CJD 301S (Short Form): If your gross annual income is under $75,000
• CJD 301L (Long Form): If your gross annual income is $75,000 or above

Gross income means everything before taxes and deductions — your salary, self-employment income, bonuses, commissions, rental income, interest, dividends, and any government benefits. If you hover near the threshold, use the long form. Filing the wrong form can delay your case.

What the Financial Statement Covers

Both forms require the same categories of information, though the long form demands more granular detail:

Weekly income. Every source of income, converted to a weekly figure. This includes your primary job, side income, investment returns, rental properties, and government benefits. If your income varies — commission-based work, freelancing, seasonal employment — you'll average it.

Weekly expenses. Housing costs, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, medical costs, insurance premiums, childcare, and debt payments. The court wants your actual weekly spending, not what you think sounds reasonable. Understating expenses to appear self-sufficient (or overstating them to justify more support) can backfire at the hearing.

Assets. Real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts (401k, IRA, pension), vehicles, business interests, life insurance cash values, and personal property of significant value. Each asset needs a current fair market value.

Liabilities. Mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit card balances, personal loans, tax debts, and any other obligations. Include the creditor name, current balance, and monthly payment.

The Perjury Trap

The financial statement includes a verification clause that you sign under the penalties of perjury. This isn't a formality. If you omit an account, undervalue an asset, or inflate an expense, and the other side discovers it during Rule 410 disclosure (which requires three years of bank statements and tax returns plus the four most recent pay stubs), you've created a credibility problem that affects every aspect of your case.

Judges remember who lied on their financial statement. A spouse who hides a $40,000 brokerage account may find the court skeptical of everything else they claim — including arguments about why they should keep the house or receive less alimony.

How Rule 410 Connects to Your Financial Statement

Your financial statement doesn't exist in isolation. Under Supplemental Rule 410, both parties must exchange a mandatory package of financial documents within 45 days of service of the summons:

• Federal and state tax returns for the past three years
• The four most recent pay stubs from each employer
• All bank, investment, and retirement account statements from the past three years
• Loan applications from the past three years
• Documentation of any interest in a business

The purpose is verification. Your financial statement says you earn $85,000 and have $12,000 in a savings account — the Rule 410 documents prove (or disprove) those numbers. The two filings work as a matched set.

Common Mistakes That Delay Cases

Forgetting employer benefits. Health insurance premiums paid by your employer, 401(k) matching contributions, and HSA contributions all count as part of your compensation picture. The Cavanagh v. Cavanagh (2022) ruling expanded what counts as income for child support purposes to include employer-matching retirement contributions.

Listing only current balances. For retirement accounts and pensions, the court cares about the marital portion — what was earned or contributed during the marriage. If you had $80,000 in a 401(k) before the wedding and it's now worth $220,000, the marital portion is approximately $140,000 (plus or minus investment gains attributable to the premarital balance).

Rounding aggressively. Monthly expenses rounded to the nearest hundred, asset values estimated from memory. The court expects actual numbers pulled from recent statements. If your checking account has $4,237.18, write $4,237 — not "approximately $4,000."

Omitting debts assigned to your spouse. Until the divorce is final, joint debts belong to both of you regardless of who's been making payments. List every joint credit card, mortgage, and loan even if your spouse has been handling the payments.

When to Update Your Financial Statement

You may need to file an updated financial statement if your case stretches over several months. Job changes, raises, major purchases, or shifts in living expenses can all materially change the numbers. The court relies on current data, not the snapshot from six months ago.

If you're heading into a hearing on temporary orders, file a fresh statement reflecting your current situation. Judges notice when a financial statement is stale.

Our Massachusetts Financial Split Guide includes a pre-filing financial worksheet designed to organize your numbers before you transfer them onto the official CJD 301 form.

The Bottom Line

The Rule 401 financial statement is the most consequential document you'll file in your Massachusetts divorce. It drives every financial decision the court makes — from who keeps the house to how much alimony gets ordered. Take the time to get the numbers right, back them up with documentation, and update them when circumstances change.

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