When a couple divorces, one of the key issues is determining how property and debt should be divided. Often, one spouse or the other has handled the finances in the family and the other spouse has little or no idea what assets and debts actually exist.  In the vast majority of divorce cases, we will have the parties exchange what is known as a sworn inventory and appraisement.  Sometimes you will hear this referred to as an “inventory” or an “I&A.”

An I&A is a super long form that lists out all the assets and all the debts for the community estate and each party’s separate estate.  The list includes everything from real estate to retirement plans to jewelry to airline miles and everything in between.  It also includes all types of debts, such as mortgages, car loans, student loans, and credit card debt.  For most people, many sections on the list will not apply.

An I&A is more than just a list.  It details how much the asset (or debt) is worth on a given date, how much it was worth at the time of marriage (if it existed then), identifying information for an account, the nature of the account, etc.  Often we will have the parties included supporting documents to backup the information on the inventory.  This could include the most recent statement, a current snapshot of an account, an appraisal, etc.

Each party will swear that the I&A is accurate to the best of his or her knowledge before a notary, and then the attorneys will exchange them.  Because the inventories are usually very long,  I then take the information from both inventories and put it into an excel chart.  This allows everyone to easily compare the inventories and easily move assets or debts into different columns for dividing the estate.