Financial Disclosure in a Northwest Territories Divorce (Rule 71)

Financial disclosure is not a suggestion in the NWT — it is a mandatory, ongoing legal obligation. Under Rule 71 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories and Section 21 of the Family Law Act, both spouses must provide complete financial disclosure before any property or support issues can be resolved.

Skipping or delaying disclosure does not slow the process in your favour. It accelerates it — against you.

What You Must Disclose

Rule 71 requires two core documents:

Statement of Property. A detailed, sworn inventory of every asset and liability you owned on the date of marriage, during the relationship, and on the date of separation. Each item must include an estimated value with supporting documentation.

Financial Statement. A sworn document listing your current monthly income, employment earnings, and living expenses. This is mandatory for any proceeding involving child or spousal support.

Required Attachments

The Financial Statement must include:

• T1 income tax returns for the three most recent tax years
• CRA Notices of Assessment and Reassessment for the same three years
• Three most recent pay stubs or an employer statement of earnings
• Bank statements for all personal and joint accounts for the 12 months before separation
• Business financial statements (if self-employed or controlling a corporation) for the past three tax years

These attachments are not optional. The court will not proceed without them.

Deadlines

Once the responding spouse is served with the divorce petition within Canada, they have 30 days to file their disclosure. Requests served outside Canada typically allow additional time.

Disclosure is also an ongoing obligation. If your financial circumstances change materially after the initial filing — a raise, a bonus, an inheritance — you must update your disclosure voluntarily.

Consequences of Hiding Assets

The NWT Supreme Court takes non-disclosure seriously. If a spouse conceals assets, understates income, or fails to produce required documents, the court can:

• Draw adverse inferences — the court assumes the hidden information would have been unfavourable to the non-disclosing spouse
• Impute income — the court assigns a higher income figure than what was reported, resulting in higher support payments
• Order production of third-party records — under Section 21 of the Family Law Act, the court can compel employers, banks, and business partners to produce financial records directly
• Award costs — the non-compliant spouse pays the other side's legal fees for the disclosure motion
• Reopen the settlement — a final property order can be reopened for up to six years after it was made if hidden assets are discovered

How to Organize Your Disclosure

The fastest way through disclosure is to organize it before you file:

1. Pull bank and investment statements for all accounts — personal, joint, and business — covering the 12 months before separation
2. Download your T1 returns and Notices of Assessment from CRA My Account
3. Collect pay stubs or request a statement of earnings from your employer
4. Get current mortgage statements, vehicle loan balances, and credit card statements
5. Request pension statements from your plan administrator
6. Obtain a property tax assessment for any real estate

Once assembled, this package serves double duty: it satisfies Rule 71 requirements and provides the raw data for your NFP calculation.

The Northwest Territories Divorce Financial Split Guide includes a Rule 71 document checklist and a Statement of Property template that maps directly to the Supreme Court's requirements.

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