Financial Disclosure Requirements in a PEI Divorce

Every PEI divorce involving property division, spousal support, or child support requires sworn financial disclosure. Under Rule 70 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, both parties must file detailed financial statements with the Supreme Court's Family Section. These aren't optional summaries — they're sworn legal documents where providing false or incomplete information constitutes perjury.

What Rule 70 Requires

The mandatory financial statement package includes Form 70I and its supporting schedules. Each spouse must disclose:

Income from all sources: Employment (gross and net), self-employment, investment income, rental income, government benefits (EI, CPP, disability), pension income, and any other regular or irregular earnings.

Assets and their values: Real estate (with professional appraisals where applicable), vehicles, bank accounts, investments, RRSPs, TFSAs, pension entitlements, business interests, life insurance cash values, personal property of significant value, and any interests in trusts or estates.

Debts and liabilities: Mortgages, lines of credit, credit cards, personal loans, car loans, student debt, tax arrears, and contingent liabilities (guarantees, pending lawsuits).

Monthly expenses: Detailed breakdown of housing costs, utilities, food, transportation, insurance, childcare, medical expenses, and discretionary spending.

The Sworn Oath Requirement

Financial statements must be sworn under oath or affirmed before a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public. This elevates the document from a self-reported summary to a legally binding declaration. Intentionally omitting assets, undervaluing property, or overstating debts is perjury — a criminal offence.

In practice, this means you can't casually estimate values. If your RRSP statement says $87,432.16 on the separation date, that's what goes on the form — not "approximately $85,000."

Supporting Documents

The raw financial statement isn't enough. You must be prepared to produce supporting documentation for every figure:

• Three years of personal income tax returns (T1) and notices of assessment
• Recent pay stubs or employment letters
• Bank statements for all accounts (typically 12 months)
• Investment account statements
• RRSP and TFSA statements
• Pension statements showing accrued benefits
• Real estate appraisals
• Vehicle valuations
• Business financial statements and corporate tax returns (T2) if applicable
• Credit card statements
• Mortgage statements
• Line of credit balances

When Disclosure Must Happen

Financial statements are typically served with or shortly after the initial court pleadings. In a contested divorce, the responding spouse must file their financial statement within the timeline set by the court (usually 30 days of being served).

In an uncontested divorce where both parties agree on property, disclosure still happens — it's just exchanged between the parties as part of drafting the separation agreement, rather than filed with the court as a standalone motion.

What Happens If Disclosure Is Incomplete

Court sanctions: A judge can draw adverse inferences from gaps — assuming the undisclosed asset is worth more than the withholding spouse claims.

Agreement set aside: A separation agreement signed without full financial disclosure can be reopened years later. If a spouse discovers their ex hid a bank account or undervalued a business, they can apply to set aside the agreement and reopen equalization.

Costs awards: Courts regularly order the non-disclosing spouse to pay the other side's legal costs for bringing a motion to compel production.

The Form 70J Waiver

If both spouses agree to resolve everything without contested court proceedings, and if neither is claiming spousal support or challenging property division, they may be able to file a Form 70J waiver of financial statements. This removes the requirement to file detailed statements with the court.

However, even with a 70J waiver, prudent practice is to exchange full financial disclosure privately before signing a separation agreement. Without it, the agreement is vulnerable to being set aside later.

Practical Preparation

Start gathering documents early — before you file or respond to a petition. The disclosure deadline arrives quickly, and pulling three years of tax returns, 12 months of bank statements, and pension valuations takes time.

The PEI Divorce Financial Split Guide includes a Rule 70 disclosure checklist that maps every required document to its source — which institution to contact, what form to request, and how long each typically takes to arrive.

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