Tennessee Divorce Preparation Checklist

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1. Identify Decisions That Cannot Wait

Begin with events or needs that could affect your safety, your children, essential services, or your ability to respond to the case.

• Identify any immediate threat to safety. Call 911 if emergency assistance is needed.
• Check received papers for hearing dates, response requirements, and other time-sensitive instructions.
• List upcoming bills that affect housing, utilities, transportation, insurance, or childcare.
• Note any concern about being unable to obtain medication, necessary belongings, or important documents.
• Identify temporary arrangements you need to discuss, including payments, residential schedules, or use of the home.
• Before changing accounts, property, coverage, or children’s arrangements, ask how existing orders and applicable restrictions affect the proposed action.

2. Build a Case Snapshot

Prepare a short factual overview that helps an attorney understand the marriage, current circumstances, and any proceedings already underway.

• Write down the marriage date, relevant separation dates, and where each spouse currently lives.
• Describe recent moves and any connection to another state that may affect filing or parenting questions.
• Keep a complete copy of the complaint, summons, notices, attachments, and any documents showing service.
• Record the court, county, case number, and attorneys involved if a case has been filed.
• Locate prenuptial or postnuptial agreements and any other signed terms relevant to the marriage.
• Gather current parenting, support, protection, or other relevant orders, including orders entered elsewhere.

3. Explain How the Household Is Funded

Look beyond a single paycheck. Identify both regular income and money that arrives unevenly throughout the year.

• Gather available pay statements, income forms, and recent tax returns with schedules.
• Identify bonuses, overtime, commissions, tips, and seasonal earnings.
• List business distributions, rental receipts, investment income, and other sources supporting the household.
• Locate documents explaining stock awards, deferred compensation, or payments expected at a later date.
• For self-employment, identify records showing revenue, expenses, and payments or benefits received by the owner.
• Explain any recent income change and distinguish confirmed amounts from projections.

4. Document Property Ownership and History

An asset’s current value may be only part of the question. Preserve information about when it was acquired, how it was funded, and what happened to it during the marriage.

Make an Inventory

• Identify homes, other real estate, bank accounts, investments, vehicles, business interests, and valuable personal property.
• List retirement plans and pensions, including former-employer plans that may be easy to overlook.
• Record ownership, estimated value, valuation date, and the supporting statement or document for each item.
• Identify property that may need an appraisal, business valuation, or plan-specific review.

Preserve Background Records

• Locate available records of property owned before the marriage.
• Gather documents showing gifts or inheritances and subsequent deposits or transfers.
• Identify changes in title, combined accounts, or substantial improvements that may require further analysis.
• Flag uncertain classifications for legal review rather than leaving the property off your list.

5. Review Debts and Continuing Commitments

Organize liabilities alongside the property they affect. Note who is legally named on an obligation as well as who currently makes the payment.

• Gather mortgage, vehicle loan, credit card, personal loan, and other debt statements.
• Record balances, interest rates, payment dates, and named borrowers where available.
• Identify tax obligations, business guarantees, leases, or installment agreements requiring attention.
• List automatic payments and the account or card used for each.
• Note any overdue balance, collection notice, or upcoming renewal.
• Prepare questions about refinancing, account closure, creditor releases, or continuing exposure under a proposed agreement.

6. Estimate the Cost of Separate Living Arrangements

Use actual expenses where possible and label estimates. Comparing more than one housing option may reveal costs that are otherwise easy to miss.

• Prepare a current monthly expense list with supporting bills or statements.
• Estimate the cost of staying in the home, renting, or making another proposed housing arrangement.
• Include taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, and maintenance when evaluating a home.
• Account for moving expenses, deposits, furnishings, and changes in travel or commuting.
• Add food, medical costs, childcare, transportation, and other necessary expenses.
• Identify any expected monthly shortfall and the assumptions behind it for a discussion of temporary or longer-term support.

7. Prepare Parenting Plan Information

Gather the details needed to discuss residential time, decision-making, and the responsibilities that continue between exchanges.

• Describe the child’s ordinary school-day and weekend routine.
• Identify each parent’s current caregiving responsibilities and actual availability.
• Collect school calendars, work rotations, childcare hours, and activity schedules.
• List health, educational, or developmental needs that affect care or transportation.
• Prepare questions about major decisions, information sharing, holidays, and school breaks.
• Test a possible schedule using travel times, morning responsibilities, and after-school care.
• Identify recurring child-related costs and available receipts or statements.
• Ask about court-approved parent education and other local requirements before enrolling in a program.

Keep children out of adult negotiations. Do not ask them to gather records, deliver proposals, or choose an outcome.

8. Investigate Insurance and Employment Benefits

Find out what coverage and benefits exist before proposing changes. Ask the appropriate administrator for plan-specific information.

• List health, dental, vision, life, disability, home, and vehicle policies.
• Identify insured individuals, premiums, beneficiaries, and renewal dates.
• Obtain benefit summaries and contact information for relevant employers or administrators.
• Ask about eligibility after divorce, required notices, continuation options, and replacement coverage.
• Identify retirement transfer requirements, related fees, and documents that may be needed beyond the divorce agreement.
• Discuss proposed policy or beneficiary changes with your attorney before taking action.

9. Preserve Useful Records

Complete, readable records are easier to evaluate than isolated screenshots or summaries without supporting documents.

• Save available statements with account details, dates, and transaction pages intact.
• Create separate folders for court documents, income, property, debts, benefits, and parenting information.
• Keep original files unchanged and label any working summaries clearly.
• Write down specific gaps, unexplained transactions, or discrepancies that need follow-up.
• Ask how to preserve relevant messages, accounting data, or other electronic information.
• Confirm a secure method for sharing sensitive material with your attorney.

Use only records you are authorized to access. Do not bypass account security or delete, alter, or conceal potentially relevant information.

10. Organize Questions for Settlement Discussions

Preparation should help you evaluate a proposal, not simply state a preferred result. Identify what would make each proposed arrangement practical.

• Separate issues agreed in principle from disputes and questions needing more information.
• For each major asset, identify ongoing costs, accessibility, transfer requirements, and associated debt.
• Compare proposed payments with supported income and expense information.
• Identify deadlines, required approvals, and who would complete each step.
• Ask what happens if financing, a transfer, or another expected step cannot be completed.
• Discuss any need for tax, valuation, retirement, or lending advice before accepting terms.
• Raise safety or coercion concerns before mediation or direct negotiations are arranged.

11. Keep Advice and Next Steps Organized

Bring a brief overview and your most important questions to an attorney meeting. Then maintain a practical record of what needs to happen next.

• Identify the deadlines and decisions that should be addressed first.
• Ask which records are necessary now and which can be requested later.
• Clarify fees, communication expectations, and responsibilities for completing tasks.
• Maintain a calendar of hearings, meetings, document requests, and submission dates.
• Keep copies of signed agreements, filed papers, and entered orders.
• Review proposed terms before signing and seek clarification about anything you do not understand.
• After the final decree, track remaining transfers, retirement documents, payments, and other required actions.

Use Preparation to Make Decisions Clearer

You do not need to predict the entire case. Start by identifying immediate needs, organizing reliable information, and preparing specific questions. Update your file as circumstances change and use professional advice to understand the choices available.

This checklist provides general organizational guidance for people considering or going through a Tennessee divorce. It is not a list of required filings, does not provide legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Applicable steps depend on individual circumstances, current law, local procedures, and existing orders.