A Form 13 Financial Statement asks you to put your financial position on paper in considerable detail. Income, weekly expenses, property, debts and superannuation all need to be accounted for, often using details spread across different accounts and documents.
For many people, the challenge is knowing what to have ready and how it fits into each part of the form. Preparing those details before you start can make Form 13 much easier to work through and reduce the chance of overlooking something important.
If you are commencing property or financial proceedings in the Family Court of Western Australia, you may be required to file Form 13 setting out your current financial circumstances. As the statement is sworn or affirmed, the details you provide need to be complete and accurate.
Key takeaways
- Form 13 is generally required when starting, responding to or replying to a financial case in the Family Court of Western Australia, subject to some exceptions.
- Income and expenses are generally recorded as weekly figures in whole dollars.
- The form provides specific ways to identify estimated, unknown and nil amounts.
- Superannuation is recorded separately from other property and may require additional details.
What is a Form 13 Financial Statement?
Form 13 is used in financial cases before the Family Court of Western Australia, including proceedings concerning property settlement, maintenance, child support and financial enforcement.
A party starting, responding to or replying to a financial case must generally file a Financial Statement at the same time. An application for consent orders is one exception.
Parties commencing family law settlement procedures have a broader obligation to provide full and frank financial disclosure of their financial circumstances. process.Completing Form 13 can be part of that process, but the disclosure required in a financial matter can extend beyond the figures entered in the statement.
For separating couples, financial disclosure may form part of reaching a property settlement, which can involve property, liabilities, superannuation and other financial resources. If agreement is reached, financial arrangements may be formalised through consent orders or a Binding Financial Agreement, depending on the circumstances.
Western Australia has its own family court system, so forms and guidance prepared for the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia may not correspond with the WA requirements. The Family Court of Western Australia publishes the current Form 13 on its website, along with instructions for completing it.
Check which financial statement applies
Some smaller property matters may be dealt with under the Priority Property Pool under $500,000, known as PPP500. A matter may fall within this pathway where the net property pool, excluding superannuation, is $500,000 or less and the other eligibility requirements are satisfied.
Eligible matters use the simplified Form 13PPP rather than the standard Form 13. Other requirements and exclusions apply, so the Family Court of Western Australia’s PPP500 guidance should be checked before completing either form.
What to gather before completing Form 13
Getting the relevant documents together first can save you from repeatedly stopping to search for figures as you move through the form.
Depending on your financial position, you may need:
- Recent payslips and year-to-date income details
- Your most recent income tax return and ATO notice of assessment
- Current bank and other financial account statements
- Mortgage statements for each property
- Credit card and store card statements
- Loan, lease and hire purchase details
- Statements for each superannuation interest
- Details of real estate you own or have an interest in
- Existing valuations or appraisals
- Life insurance details
- Records of regular household and personal expenses
- Business, partnership, company or trust financial records, if applicable
- Details of any applicable child support assessment, agreement or order
The documents exchanged as part of financial disclosure can also support and explain the figures recorded in your statement. If your income, expenses, assets or liabilities have changed since separation, the figures you use should reflect your present financial position rather than an earlier point in time.
How to record figures in Form 13
Before working through each section, it helps to be familiar with the way the form asks you to record figures. Income and expenditure need to be shown as weekly amounts where required, using whole dollars.
The form also uses specific terms for figures that are not exact:
- Place ‘E’ before an amount that is an estimate
- Use ‘NK’ where a figure is not known and cannot be estimated after reasonable enquiry
- Use ‘NIL’ where the amount is zero
Applicable questions should be answered rather than left blank without explanation. If you need more room for an answer, Part O can be used, with the relevant part and paragraph identified.
Annual income or expenses can be divided by 52 to calculate an estimated weekly figure. Amounts paid monthly, fortnightly or at another frequency also need to be converted where the form asks for a weekly amount.
Estimates, jointly held property and financial interests that do not fit neatly into a single category can require particular care when completing Form 13, even when you have the underlying records available.
Form 13 checklist by section
Form 13 runs from Part A through to Part O. The financial summary appears near the beginning in Part B, but it draws on totals calculated later in the form. Working through the substantive financial sections first can make that summary easier to complete and reconcile.
Parts A to C: personal and employment details
The opening sections cover your personal, Court and employment details, including your employer and any relevant business, company, partnership or trust.
Complete the applicable details, but leave the relevant signing section until the statement is ready to be sworn or affirmed in accordance with the Court requirements.
Part D: income
Part D brings together the different sources of income that apply to you. These may include:
- Gross salary or wages before tax
- Overtime, commissions, allowances, penalties and bonuses
- Investment income
- Income from a business, partnership, company or trust
- Government payments
- Maintenance or child support received
- Non-cash employment benefits
- Other income required by the form
Once Part D is complete, the total at Item 16 carries through to the financial summary.
Parts E to H: household income and expenses
The next sections look beyond your own income to other household income, expenses paid for your benefit and your weekly personal expenditure. Each part deals with something slightly different:
- Part E: Details and gross weekly income of other adults living in your household
- Part F: Expenses another person pays for your benefit
- Part G: Your weekly personal expenditure, including applicable housing, household, insurance, transport and debt expenses
- Part H: Expenses included in Part G that you pay for another person
The total at Item 33 is then transferred to the financial summary.
Part I: property
Part I records property you own or have an interest in. Depending on your financial position, this may include:
- The family home and other real estate
- Bank and other financial accounts
- Shares and other investments
- Money owed to you
- Life insurance policies with a surrender value
- Vehicles
- Business interests
- Household contents and other personal property
Property outside Australia may also need to be disclosed. For jointly held property, the form asks for details of your ownership interest.
Once this section is complete, the total at Item 44 is used in Part B.
Part J: superannuation
Superannuation is recorded separately from the property in Part I. Each interest needs to be identified, including the fund or plan, the type of interest where required and its relevant value.
Some property matters require further superannuation details. The Court’s Financial Statement Kit and superannuation forms set out what is required, and records from a superannuation trustee can take time to obtain.
The total at Item 45 carries through to the financial summary.
Parts K and L: liabilities and financial resources
Part K records liabilities such as:
- Mortgages
- Income tax assessed and unpaid
- Personal and other loans
- Credit and charge cards
- Hire purchase and lease liabilities
- Other personal or business liabilities
Part L deals with financial resources rather than liabilities. These may include an interest in a trust or deceased estate and other resources identified by the form.
The totals at Items 55 and 58 are both used in the Part B summary.
Parts M to O: disposals, maintenance and additional information
The final substantive sections deal with matters that will not apply in the same way to every financial case:
- Part M: Certain property disposed of in the 12 months before separation and since separation, including relevant property that has been sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of
- Part N: Financial circumstances relevant to applications for maintenance, child support and financial enforcement, with the form setting out when this section applies
- Part O: Additional space for answers that cannot be completed elsewhere, identifying the part and paragraph each entry relates to
With those sections completed, you can return to the financial summary in Part B.
Part B: completing the financial summary
Part B brings together six totals calculated elsewhere in the Form 13 Financial Statement:
- Total weekly income at Item 16
- Total personal expenditure at Item 33
- Total property at Item 44
- Total gross superannuation at Item 45
- Total liabilities at Item 55
- Total financial resources at Item 58
Compare each amount with the corresponding item before finalising the statement. This final reconciliation can pick up a figure that has been transferred incorrectly or a total that needs another look.
Common Form 13 mistakes to check for
A final review can pick up gaps or inconsistencies that may not have been obvious while completing individual sections.
In particular, look for:
- Applicable fields left blank instead of using ‘NIL’, ‘NK’ or an estimate where appropriate
- A superannuation interest or additional details that have been omitted
- Incorrect ownership details for jointly held property or liabilities
- Relevant property disposals missing from Part M
- Part N being completed or omitted without checking whether it applies
- Details added to Part O without identifying the question they relate to
Before the statement is sworn or affirmed, make sure each applicable section is complete, the Part B figures reconcile with the relevant totals and any additional material required for your matter is ready.
If your financial circumstances change after filing
Filing the statement does not necessarily mean your financial position will remain the same for the rest of the proceedings. Your income, expenses, assets or liabilities may change while the matter is underway.
Under Rule 201 of the Family Court Rules 2021 (WA), a significant change in financial circumstances must be addressed within 21 days. Depending on the extent of the amendments, this may involve:
- Filing a new Financial Statement; or
- If the amendments can be clearly stated in 300 words or less, filing an affidavit setting out the changes.
When completing Form 13 becomes more complex
Businesses, trusts, overseas property and some superannuation interests can be more difficult to capture clearly within a standard financial statement. Questions can also arise around complex ownership arrangements, assets that are difficult to value or financial interests that do not fit neatly within one section of the form.
Rule 200 also provides that if completing the Financial Statement does not fully discharge a party’s duty of disclosure, further particulars must be provided by affidavit. More complex financial arrangements can therefore require closer consideration of what needs to be disclosed and how it should be recorded.
Schedules and Spreadsheets may be annexed to the Form for more complex pools or to better illustrate financial positions.
Our Property and Finance team works with clients to understand their financial position following separation and bring clarity to the financial issues that need to be addressed. If you are unsure about what is required in your statement or how your circumstances should be recorded, you can contact our team to discuss your situation.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to prepare Form 13?
There is no single timeframe for preparing Form 13. How long it takes will depend on your financial circumstances and how readily you can access the documents and figures the form requires.
A relatively straightforward financial position may take less time to compile than one involving several properties, superannuation interests, business structures, trusts or records that need to be obtained from third parties. Gathering the relevant documents before you begin can make the process more manageable.
Do I need to provide documents as well as completing Form 13?
Form 13 sits within the broader duty of financial disclosure. Depending on the proceedings, parties may also need to provide documents relating to matters such as income, bank accounts, taxation, property, liabilities, superannuation or business interests.
The documents required are not necessarily limited to the figures entered in the statement, so completing Form 13 should not be treated as the entirety of the disclosure process.
What should I do if I cannot find an exact figure?
The form distinguishes between an amount that can reasonably be estimated and one that remains unknown after reasonable enquiry. An estimated amount is identified with ‘E’, while ‘NK’ is used where the figure is not known and cannot be estimated after reasonable enquiry.
Leaving the field blank does not communicate the same thing. The way the form asks estimates and unknown amounts to be identified helps make clear what the figure represents.
How do I fill out Form 13 when my finances are complex?
The same form may need to capture very different financial arrangements. Businesses, trusts, overseas assets, complex ownership structures and some superannuation interests can involve questions about valuation, ownership or additional disclosure that are not resolved simply by entering a figure in a box.
If you consider any additional information needs to be considered relevant to the items in the form, use Part O to explain.
Where completing Form 13 does not fully discharge the duty of disclosure, Rule 200 of the Family Court Rules 2021 (WA) provides for further particulars to be given by affidavit. The requirements will depend on the financial circumstances involved.