An Affidavit of Financial Information is an important document in Arizona divorce and child support proceedings. Because the financial affidavit is important and several pages, people can often feel overwhelmed when they first sit down to complete it. We have found that people are more comfortable with the document when they understand what it is and how it will be used.
This article breaks down the Affidavit of Financial Information, why it is important, where you can obtain the templates, and some steps to make preparing the Affidavit of Financial Information easier.
Please remember that the Affidavit of Financial Information is unique to each case. If you have questions, you should contact an experienced family law attorney and discuss your specific case.
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The Affidavit of Financial Information—commonly referred to as AFI for short—is the party’s written statement/oath regarding their employment, education, and finances. The affidavit requires truthfulness. False or misleading answers can have significant legal consequences for the party.
The AFI is required to be filed in cases where child support, spousal maintenance, or attorney fees and costs are an issue in the case. This requirement is identified in Rule 49, A.R.F.L.P. Rule 49 is the rule that outlines the mandatory disclosure requirements in an Arizona family law case.
The AFI may be required in other Arizona Family Law cases, so check the relevant statutes and rules to see if the AFI is required in your case.
As mentioned above, when child support, spousal maintenance, or attorney fees and costs are an issue in the case, an AFI is required.
Attorneys and the Court can use the information within the AFI to see the educational background of the party, the party’s employment history, past earning record, the party’s current earnings, and the party’s current or estimated expenses.
This information can be important for various factors in the Arizona Child Support Guidelines or the spousal maintenance factors identified in A.R.S. §25-319.
In a divorce or child support case, a party may need more information about employment history, education, or earnings. The party may need to explore additional disclosure/discovery. Still, the AFI is an excellent place to start and a good place to find support for an argument.
The Affidavit of Financial Information for Maricopa County Superior Court can be found here. Other county-specific AFI’s can typically be found on the county clerk’s website or in their self-service center at the courthouse.
The AFI is 12 pages long and can seem like a blur of blank lines. This feeling of being overwhelmed is often just a symptom of the overall stress of family law litigation. Breaking it down, the AFI is just eight sections of information you know or can typically quickly lookup:
1. General Information
2. Employment Information
3. Your Education/Training
4. Your Gross Monthly Income
5. Self-Employment Income (If Applicable)
6. Schedule of All Monthly Expenses for Children
7. Schedule of All Monthly Expenses
8. Outstanding Debts and Accounts
Do not let the AFI overwhelm you. Overall, carefully read the questions and the bullet points at the beginning of the section. The bullet points at the beginning of the sections answer some common questions: how is the gross monthly income typically calculated, and how do you identify estimated monthly expenses? In other counties, the Court’s approved AFI may differ slightly from Maricopa’s. Still, there is usually an instruction packet that accompanies the approved AFI to help litigants navigate common questions. You can generally obtain the instruction packet from the specific Court’s self-help department.
Read the entire AFI through once and then complete the AFI section by section. You already know a lot of the answers, and carefully reading the questions and bullet points often reduces the stress associated with completing the AFI and ensures the accuracy of information. As discussed below, it may also be helpful to complete the AFI as you are gathering your documents for Disclosure.
