Where to find family court forms and complete a Form 13 financial statement?

In this post I will show you where to find family court forms and how to complete a basic family law Form 13 financial statement. 

If you are reading this, then you may already be involved in proceedings in the family courts. However, it is never too late to get expert legal advice about your case or to consider whether your case could settle by attending mediation or family dispute resolution or a mediation style conference. Going to court should be the last resort. Are you confident that you have you received the best legal advice possible about your case from a family law expert? If not, telephone us for a no obligation free 15 minute consultation or to arrange a reduced fee initial consultation. 

1. Decide if you want a family lawyer to draft or review your Form 13 financial statement.

It is not compulsory that a family lawyer represent you in the family court. You may represent yourself. You may complete your own family court forms. However, It is preferable that you use an experienced family lawyer to draft your family court forms.

Read more about your family law rights and the benefits of having an experienced family lawyer guide you. 

I highly recommend that you get an experienced family lawyer to review your draft Form 13 before you file. It is an affidavit. So if you provide false information, you may be punished for swearing false evidence. Also, providing false evidence is likely to have detrimental impact on your family court case.

If you provide incorrect information, even by mistake, in a Form 13 financial statement, then this may irreversibly and negatively affect your credibility and the outcome of your case.

If you are not sure whether you need legal representation or need help drafting any family court forms, you can telephone us for a free 15 minute consultation or to arrange a reduced fee initial consultation. Still not sure. Meet the team and read testimonials of actual clients. We have 18 years experience completing family court forms.

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2. You must provide a full and frank disclosure in your Form 13 financial statement.

A Form 13 financial statement is a a prescribed family court form setting out your current income, expenses, assets, liabilities and financial resources. You must complete and file a financial statement when you commence proceedings in relation to family court in relation to financial case. Financial cases may relate to property settlement, spousal maintenance or child support. You may also be ordered to file a Form 13 in a custody case. It is an affidavit. It must be sworn under oath or affirmed before a prescribed witness. You use a Form 13 financial statement to provide a full and frank disclosure to the other party and the family court.

If your case is about child support, I recommend you read our ultimate child support guide.

3. Download a blank Form 13 financial statement.

To make things a little confusing there are 3 different family court in Australia. The form that you should use depends on which family court your case is in. You can tell by reading the cover page of the family court forms served on you. Is your case in the Family Court of Western Australia? the Family Court of Australia? Or, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia? I will focus on a Form 13 financial statement of the Family Court of Western Australia.

1. Go to the website of the Family Court of Western Australia.
2. Then, go to the tab marked Forms and Resources.
3. Then, go to Information Kits and Brochures.
4. Now, click on the Financial Statement Kit.
5. Download the Financial Statement Kit, which includes information on how to complete and a blank Form 13.
6. Or, you can contact us and we will e-mail you a blank Form 13 financial statement.

Download the Word version of the form. The Word version is easier to handle than the PDF version. Save a copy on your computer before you start. Save all of your changes as you go.

4. Get your financial information or documents ready to complete a Form 13.

Before you start filling in the Form 13, you should collect together all your relevant financial documents. Or have them easily accessible on your computer or online. What documents are relevant will vary from case to case. However, the following documents are usually relevant:

1. Current bank, mortgage and credit card statements.

4. Current payslip.
5. Current superannuation statement.
6. File containing household expenses and accounts.
7. Most recent income taxation return.
8. Most recent notice of assessment from the ATO.
9. Any appraisals or valuations.

5. Watch this brief YouTube video of a Form 13 financial statement.

I recommend that you watch the YouTube video below before you start. It shows a Form 13 financial statement being completed. The Family Court of WA has updated its website. So there will be some differences between what you see in the video. 

6. Complete every paragraph of the Form 13 financial statement.

You have downloaded a blank Form 13. You have your financial information ready to hand. You have watched the YouTube video. You are now ready to start filling in the form.

Using the Financial Statement Kit of the Family Court of WA, follow these steps to now complete the Form 13:

1. On page 2, there are Important notes on completing a Form 13. You must read and understand these notes before you start.
2. Ideally, you should complete your financial statement on a computer. The family court may not accept it if handwritten, especially if is illegible.
3. You must complete every paragraph. No paragraph should be blank.  Insert the word “nil” if you do not own an item, or if an item has a nil value.
4. Use whole numbers rounded to the nearest ten. There is no requirement to insert decimal places.
5. Insert the letter “E” if you estimate a value.
6. Insert the letters “NK” if you do not know the value.
7. On page 3, there is an Important Warning. You must make a full and frank disclosure in the financial statement.  You must not omit any of your financial interests. If you are not sure, then I recommend that you take legal advice from an experienced family lawyer.
8. On the front page of the financial statement, if appropriate, tick the relevant court box, and the box showing if you are the applicant or respondent.
9. In Part A, insert your full name.
10. A form 13 is an affidavit. Once completed it must be sworn before an appropriately qualified witness. The affidavit is on the first page. There are penalties for giving false evidence. You may harm your case if you give false evidence.
11. Part B, contains a summary of all the information in the Form 13.  So complete Part B at the end.
12. In Part C, insert your employment details as requested in the appropriate boxes.
13. In Part D, insert your average weekly income from the various sources indicated. In the YouTube video, Jessica Smith receives wages of $780.00 gross per week. She also receives rent of $160.00 gross per week. And, she receives income from a business and child support from Adam Smith.
14. In Part E, insert the details of the other income earners living with you. In the example, Jessica’s son, Luke, lives with Jessica and he is working.
15. In Part F, insert the details of the expenses paid by anybody else for you. It is okay to estimate. Just insert the letter “E”.
16. In Part G, insert the details of your average weekly expenses. In this Part, you insert the expenses that you pay on an average weekly basis. In the example, you can see Jessica’s average weekly expenses. Jessica has other expenses that she has not estimated, so she put “Not Known” in paragraph 32.
17. In Part H, put the expenses you pay for others. In the video, Jessica pays expenses for Luke and Samantha.
18. In Part I, insert the property in which you have an interest. In the video, Jessica has a 50% share in 2 pieces of real estate, some savings, life insurance with no surrender value, a car, a business and household contents.
19. In Part J, insert details of the superannuation. Jessica, has $46,000.00 in her AMP Flexible Superannuation Account, which is an accumulation interest. She has no other superannuation.
20. In Part K, insert details of all of your debts. Jessica has 2 mortgages, (shared equally with her former husband Adam Smith), and she has $5,000.00 owing on her Visa Credit Card.
21. In Part L, you must disclose any financial resource that you have an interest in. I recommend that you take legal advice about your particular financial resources, if any. If you are able, or likely, to receive funds from any person or entity, then it must be disclosed.
22. In Part M, insert the details of any property disposed of in the 12 months before and since separation.
23. Part N must be completed if you are seeking spousal maintenance or child support. Otherwise do not complete Part N. Jessica has completed Part N.
24. In Part O, you should insert any additional information that explains your previous answers, if there is any doubt.
25. Now, remember to go back and complete the summary in Part B.
26. I highly recommend that an experienced family lawyer reviews your draft financial statement before you swear the affidavit.

7. Consider whether you need some advice from a family lawyer.

If you have any other questions about how to complete a Form 13 financial statement, please telephone one of our friendly staff. Or if you need help with any other family court forms, such as an application for consent orders or a binding financial agreement.