Check list for Life Insurance:

1. Identifying what life insurance?
2. What the cash value there would be?
3. Find out if it is a whole life policy, what the amount would be or what the death benefit would be.
4. Who has the ownership and responsibility for payment of the premium?
5. Who is the beneficiary?
6. If there is an establishment of a Trust?
7. What are the future obligations?
8. What the duration is?
9. How the other person can review the policy?

Check list for Property Division – Marital Home:

1. This would list who has the ownership and who has the use of it.
2. If there is joint ownership and whether they are tenants in common or joint tenants.
3. Who is responsible for what expenses?
4. Who is responsible for current and future mortgages and expenses?
5. Who is responsible for real estate taxes?
6. Who is responsible for homeowner’s insurance, maintenance and capital improvements for minor and major repairs?
7. What happens if there is rental income?
8. What is the tax consequences?
9. What the duration would be or if they are triggering events?
10. If the property gets transferred to another party, when that would occur and how that would occur?
11. The capital gains discussions; the mechanisms for any transfers.

With additional property, such as:

1. Any pension or retirement listing the plan and describing it.
2. Seeing if it is a benefit plan.
3. What the valuation of that plan is and who pays for that valuation?
4. If there is a transfer provision and division?
5. Who does something called the Qualified Domestic Relation Order (“QDRO”) and who pays for this?
6. If there are additional properties such as stocks, bonds and things of that nature, identifying and the balance of accounts.
7. Talking about buyouts or other dispositions, bank accounts and balances of accounts.
8. If there are any family businesses.
9. If there are other businesses or real estate; including rental property, partnerships or limited partnerships.
10. If there are pending legal actions or tangible personal property.
11. If there are trusts that have not been identified and what the present and future value in that trust would be.
12. If there are trade-offs, vehicles; which include listing the make, model and year, who holds the title and what will the ownership be upon the divorce?
13. If there is any intellectual property; also, anywhere from cemetery plots to frequent flyer miles, to time shares, to pets, to unique personal property such as photo albums and important furniture and things of that nature.
14. What would happen if any of the properties were purchased by a spouse after an Agreement, but before the divorce become final?

Another provision would be taxes:

1. How your taxes would be filed for last year of the marriage?
2. How the parties would work together if there is a joint filing?
3. What would be the available deductions?
4. How are the monies owed or if there is a refund? How that is divided?
5. To indemnify one party, if needed, and if there is audits or investigations of prior tax year returns, how that would be looked at?
6. Capital gains, assets or capital losses and adjustments for changes in different tax laws.

Debts and liabilities:

1. Who is responsible for the debt, including what happens if the debt occurred after the Agreement and before the Judgment becomes final?
2. Having it Indemnified.

Other provisions that could be included as well:

1. Your full disclosures about finance.
2. The idea that each party would have their own independent legal advice.
3. A promise that neither party have future debt in the other party’s name;
4. Possibly the waiver of right to claim against a will; or property that is acquired later.
5. Right to dispose of property by will.
6. Waiving any claims that the parties have.
7. The parties acknowledge that the Agreement is fair and reasonable and it is by
8. If one part of the provision is not valid by enforceability, that the other provision shall remain.
9. Any modification, change or amendment should be in writing.
10. It is binding and conclusive upon heirs or executors.
11. That the effective bankruptcy, notarization and the other aspects as well.