See the notebook before you buy it.

This is the Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook, an organization tool for a divorce without minor children. It gives you a place to organize your case information, financial records, and preparation for a hearing or trial. In this overview, we will walk through the notebook and the different parts of your preparation.

The notebook includes legal information, rather than legal advice. You use it to organize your records, your positions, and your notes. It does not choose a position or a legal strategy for your case.

There are two editions. The digital edition is a workbook for Excel and Google Sheets. The Print Edition is a fillable PDF that you can complete on screen or print for a binder. Both follow the same sequence of sections.

The Start section includes case information and a short table matching different stages of a case to the relevant sections. You can begin with the part that fits your current stage rather than completing every page in order.

A Plaintiff who is considering filing begins with Pre-Filing. A Defendant who has been served begins with Crisis. If you are negotiating before a court filing, begin with Financial and Property disclosures.

State Rules is the place for the rules, deadlines, fees, and official sources for your state. Steadycase Compass is a separate reference guide for finding those sources, with an edition for every state and the District of Columbia.

In Timeline, you can organize life events and litigation events separately, with dates and supporting records beside each entry. That gives you a chronology to consult as you organize the rest of your materials.

Financial is where you bring together income, expenses, assets, and debts. You can identify missing information beside the relevant entry and keep track of the documents behind the financial picture.

Property takes that picture into more detail. You can list an asset, record different estimates of its value, and organize proposed divisions and records of its history. There are also worksheets for alimony factors and retirement accounts. Each has its own video in this series.

The next sections connect your records to your trial preparation. Discovery has space to track document requests and responses. Separate exhibit lists for Plaintiff and Defendant, a witness list, and testimony outlines give you places to connect a document, a witness, and a disputed issue.

The final sections bring together the requests you plan to present and the materials supporting those requests. There is space for requested relief, pretrial preparation, and deadlines, followed by opening and closing outlines and final checks.

You do not have to learn every section from this overview. The other videos take a closer look at the individual sections, so you can explore the parts relevant to your preparation.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

A response period. A filing fee. A rule on property division. Each is a different entry in the Financial Divorce Trial Notebook, with space for the source alongside the information.

State Rules is the section for those entries. Most of the page is blank at the beginning. You fill in the information for your state and court, then use that page as a reference throughout the notebook.

The first table has a topic column, a rule or statute column, a deadline or requirement, and notes. There are prepared rows for response periods, discovery, evidence rules, and trial procedure.

Financial Divorce also includes rows for financial-statement and property-statement deadlines. Two further rows concern premarital or postnuptial agreements and military-related financial rules. These are subjects for source research, not prefilled answers about a case.

Next is a fee table. Filing the initial petition. A counter-petition. Motions. Subpoenas. Certified copies. A fee waiver. You can record the current amount and a note about its source beside the relevant item.

The resource section is for contact information and useful links. Court self-help, bar referral, legal aid, pro bono services, official court forms, and domestic-violence resources each have a row.

For alimony, there are fifteen numbered spaces for the factors in your state's actual list, with a citation column. There is also a field for the property-division regime and room for other state-specific notes.

Steadycase Compass is the companion reference guide for this step. It is available for all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Each edition contains links to official rules, statutes, forms, fees, and self-help resources for that jurisdiction.

Compass and the notebook serve different purposes. Use Compass to locate an official source. Read the source, then enter the relevant information and citation in State Rules. You have both the entry and a way to return to its source.

You do not need every entry before using the section. You can enter a court website or confirmed source first, then complete the remaining rows as you collect the information.

The same State Rules structure is available in the digital workbook and the print binder. Either way, the reference page is specific to your preparation rather than a collection of unlabeled bookmarks.

A rule, its source, and the related notes in the same place. That is information you can find again while preparing the rest of the notebook.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

Tax returns in one folder. Retirement statements in another. A deed, some loan papers, and a list of requests that you haven't organized yet. The Pre-Filing section is where you make an orderly list of those materials before filing.

In the Financial Divorce Trial Notebook, this section is for the Plaintiff. A separate starting tab exists for someone who has already been served. The Pre-Filing pages concentrate on readiness, documents, and an initial list of requested relief.

The readiness checklist includes preliminary information, such as residency, the court location, grounds for divorce, financial records, requested relief, fees or a waiver, and a safety plan when needed. Each item has room for status, a completion date, and notes.

That combination is useful because a checkmark alone does not explain an unfinished item. The Notes field provides room to identify the information or to list what is still needed for that entry.

Below it is a jurisdiction and venue worksheet. You can record each spouse's residence, the court or county, and any prior family-law case involving the same parties.

The corresponding rule and source can be recorded in State Rules. Steadycase Compass contains official-source links for every state and the District of Columbia, including court rules, statutes, and self-help resources for that research.

The document tracker is next. Tax returns, bank and investment statements, retirement records, pay stubs, debts, titles, and deeds. Each record has a description, a date range, status, and a location or file path.

For a statement already saved, the location can identify the folder and filename. For a statement still requested, the status and notes can identify the open request. You can distinguish a record in hand from one still missing.

The initial relief list is in the same section. There is room for categories such as alimony, property division, attorney's fees, divorce grounds, a name change, and other requests. Each entry includes a specific request, its priority, and notes.

You are recording a position rather than predicting a result. Later, that initial list can be expanded in the Relief Requested tab, alongside references to exhibits and witnesses.

The result is a preparation file with three clear parts: the readiness items, the documents and their locations, and the requests you have recorded. That is a practical starting point for the financial notebook.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

You've just been served with divorce papers. Where do you begin with all of this? The Crisis tab in the Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook gives you a place to organize the papers, your response notes, and the financial records connected to each issue.

This section is designed for the Defendant's first days after service. Let's walk through its checklist, response-deadline worksheet, and tables for the petition and requested relief. Each has a different purpose as you begin putting your file together.

The checklist is a starting point for tracking your preparation. There are priorities, completion boxes, dates, and space for notes. Organization items include choosing where to keep the workbook and securing your documents. You can mark your progress and note anything still missing from the file.

The response-deadline worksheet keeps the date information together. There are separate fields for the date of service, the response period, and the resulting date. The digital workbook calculates a date from the information you enter. In the print binder, you enter the date by hand.

The response period depends on the applicable court rules. Confirm the actual deadline with the clerk or your court's current rules. Steadycase Compass provides links to official court rules, and the State Rules tab has space to record the source and your notes.

Next is the petition tracker. You can go paragraph by paragraph, keeping the paragraph number beside the allegation and your response notes. There is also space for further detail, supporting evidence, and a linked exhibit.

For example, a paragraph about an account can have a reference to the account statement beside it. A paragraph about a debt can refer to the loan papers. Those references connect your notes to the relevant documents without losing your place in the petition.

The next table is for what the other side is asking the court to order. That is the relief requested. The table includes alimony, property division, attorney's fees, divorce grounds, a name change, and other requests. You can record your position beside each request.

There is also space for what you would ask the court to order instead, along with your priority and notes. A separate counter-petition table provides space for your own proposed claims. These tables keep the other side's requests and your proposed requests organized for review.

As you add more detail, you can reference the same records in the Financial and Property tabs and the exhibit lists. The account statement you identified beside a petition paragraph can also support an entry elsewhere in your notebook.

When you've just been served, there is a lot to take in at once. The Crisis tab gives you a way to organize one part at a time, with the petition, your notes, and the document references together in your file.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

What comes in, what goes out, what is owned, and what is owed. Those are the four parts of the Financial section in the Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook.

The section begins with monthly income. Wages, self-employment, investments, rent, benefits, and retirement income have prepared rows, with room to identify the payer and the party receiving the income.

Amounts are entered on a monthly basis. There are also fields for the supporting document and the period covered by the entry. That is useful for income that changes from one period to the next.

Monthly expenses follow. Housing, transportation, food, insurance, healthcare, and debt service. You can record the amount, the payer, and notes beside each category, with additional rows for other expenses.

The asset list includes real estate, vehicles, accounts, retirement, business interests, and personal property. For each item, you can record the title holder, estimated value, loan balance, and valuation source.

The digital workbook calculates income and expense totals, and calculates net values from the asset entries. The print binder has corresponding fields for manual entries. Both formats use the same categories and supporting-record structure.

Sometimes a value is not yet known. For Account A in this example, a statement has been requested. The amount cell is left blank, with the request identified in Notes. An unknown amount is not entered as zero.

Debts have a separate table. Mortgage, home-equity loan, vehicle loan, credit card, student loan, or tax liability. The account names, balance, and payment can be recorded beside the creditor and purpose.

Financial Divorce also has fields for proposed allocation and the reason for that position. The balance owed and the requested responsibility are separate entries. Neither entry is a ruling on the debt.

Under the numbers is the supporting-documents tracker. You can identify the tax return, statement, pay stub, title, or business record, then record its location and status. Financial-statement requirements have a separate entry in State Rules, with Steadycase Compass available for official-source links.

For a completed entry, you have the number and a reference to the supporting paper. For an incomplete entry, you have a visible note about the missing information. Both are more useful than a figure with no explanation.

The Financial section is the starting inventory. Property, alimony, retirement, and evidence receive more detailed treatment in later sections, using the financial records already identified.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

One house. Two estimates of its value. Two proposals about its division. The Property inventory in the Financial Divorce Trial Notebook has separate columns for those positions.

Start with the item itself: a description, when it was acquired, how it is titled, and its classification. There is one row for each asset, with the financial details across the same line.

A short characterization primer introduces the labels marital or community, separate, and commingled. These are reference terms in the workbook. The classification of a particular asset is not decided by selecting a label.

For the governing source, use the property-division entry in State Rules. Steadycase Compass contains official statute and court-rule links for your state, so the source can be recorded alongside your notes.

The inventory separates your asserted value from your spouse's asserted value. It also has two loan-balance columns. You can record a disagreement without replacing one party's figure with the other party's figure.

The proposed division has the same separation. One column for your proposal, another for the other party's proposal, and Notes beside them. The inventory is a record of the positions on each item.

If a value is still unknown, the number remains blank and the missing information is identified in Notes. In the Account A example, the requested statement remains an open item rather than an invented balance.

Debts are recorded in Financial. Alongside the creditor, account names, balance, and payment, there are columns labeled Proposed allocation and Why. A disputed responsibility can be documented beside the debt itself.

The Property section also includes a valuation-methods reference, with categories for real estate, vehicles, retirement, business interests, personal property, and digital assets. The reference is separate from the values entered in your inventory.

Supporting documents can be identified in the financial document tracker and referenced in the exhibit lists. A value, a loan balance, and a proposed division can each be reviewed against the relevant record.

At the end of this stage, you have an itemized inventory: the property, the competing financial details, and each party's proposal. You can use the same information when recording requested relief.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

An account balance describes a point in time. In the Financial Divorce Trial Notebook, there is also space to record an asset's history: the earlier source, the later transaction, and the documents connecting them.

The Timeline section has parallel columns for life events and litigation events. You can enter a date, the event, a linked exhibit, and notes, with the two kinds of events in the same chronological view.

That can include an acquisition, a change in an account, or a later filing. The detailed asset record is separate, in the Property section, where there is a tracing worksheet for separate or commingled claims.

Each tracing row has fields for the asset, the claimed basis, the source document, its date and amount, the current amount, key dates, and notes about the sequence.

For example, you can identify an earlier statement and the record of a later transaction. You can record a document reference beside each part of that account history, with the date and amount from the source.

A missing document is part of the record too. For Account A, the current statement is requested, and an earlier statement is also missing. The notes identify both requests. Receiving the current statement would not complete the earlier document sequence.

Property also includes an agreement record. It has fields for whether a premarital or postnuptial agreement exists, when it was signed, the original's location, whether it is disputed, and further notes.

The related records can include the signed agreement, drafts, correspondence, and information about attorney involvement. You can list those documents as exhibits without treating their inclusion as a conclusion about the agreement.

The agreement's validity and effect are not determined by this organizer. State Rules includes an agreement-law row, and Steadycase Compass contains links to official statutes and court rules for the source research.

Use Timeline for the sequence and the tracing worksheet for the detailed asset entries. Record an agreement and its related documents in the agreement organizer. You can use those sections together without combining every subject into one table.

A current value, the earlier history, the supporting records, and the gaps still identified. That is a financial file with enough detail to distinguish a documented step from an unanswered question.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

The income and expense figures are one part of an alimony issue. Your position and the records supporting it need their own space. In the Financial Divorce Trial Notebook, that space is a factor worksheet on Property.

The heading is Spousal or partner support factors. Under it are columns for the factor, its meaning, your position, evidence, priority, and notes.

The prepared rows are common examples. They are not your state's actual list. That distinction is stated above the table, before any of the sample factors.

Your state's factors can be recorded in State Rules, with a citation beside each entry. Steadycase Compass provides links to official statutes and court rules for every state and the District of Columbia, including sources for alimony research.

The workbook's examples include need and ability to pay, length of the union, and standard of living. Other examples concern age and health, contributions, education, and earning capacity. There are also rows for other considerations and fault where applicable.

For a factor you are organizing, you can enter your position in one column and identify the supporting records in the next. A point about income can refer to the financial information and the source documents already listed in Financial.

For an entry about income, you can write your position in the Position column. In Evidence, you can name the pay stub or other record supporting that position. This keeps your point and its supporting document together.

Priority and Notes provide space for your preparation details. They do not assign legal weight to a factor. This worksheet does not calculate an alimony award. Each state has its own approach to alimony. Some decisions rely on a list of factors without a formula. Others involve a formula as well as factors. The approach can also differ between temporary and long-term support. Compass provides a starting point for checking your state's official sources.

The same factor structure is available in the print binder. You can enter the position and document references on paper, then use those references when preparing the exhibit list and requested relief.

Alimony is separate from the retirement-account tracker, even though both appear on Property. This worksheet is for the factors, positions, and evidence associated with the alimony issue.

The result is a clear page for preparation: the factor, your position, and the record you have identified in support. Each entry has a purpose beyond adding another number to the financial inventory.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

Two retirement accounts can be listed in the financial inventory, yet still have separate questions about paperwork and benefits. The Financial Divorce Trial Notebook has a retirement-division tracker for recording those questions account by account.

The tracker is on Property, below the alimony worksheet. It has one row for the plan or account name, the plan type, and the information about division paperwork and survivor or death benefits.

Those questions have separate columns. You can record whether a division order is needed in one column, and information about survivor or death benefits in another. Both headings include a reminder to ask the plan.

You can record the current status of each account and what needs to happen next. There is also space to identify the person responsible for that step, record a deadline, and add notes about unanswered questions.

In this example, a statement has been requested for Retirement Account R1. The current status and the outstanding request are recorded beside that account. Retirement Account R2 has a separate row, with its own questions and notes.

You can record the statement and its file location in the Financial tab’s supporting-documents tracker. The retirement tracker holds the account information and follow-up record, rather than the document itself.

The reference note lists questions about a QDRO, another kind of court order, or a custodian's paperwork. These are alternatives to confirm for the particular account. A single paperwork label is not assigned across the whole list.

The reference note also includes questions about survivor or death benefits and tax consequences. You can record the response from the plan or custodian and identify any further question in Notes. The notebook does not draft a division order or calculate an award.

The print binder has the same account-by-account structure. For state court rules and forms, Steadycase Compass contains official-source links. Questions about a particular plan remain separate, with the plan or custodian identified as the source.

Later, the identified statements and correspondence can be referenced in the exhibit list and requested relief. The account name makes those connections specific to one plan rather than retirement in general.

The retirement tracker gives you a place to record the questions about each account, the responses you receive, and any follow-up still needed. You can keep those details together as part of your financial preparation.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

You saved an account statement for a property issue. Now you need its exhibit number, the related witness, and your notes about its use. In the evidence sections of the Financial Divorce Trial Notebook, you can record those connections beside the document entry.

Begin with Discovery. You can track interrogatories, document requests, requests for admission, subpoenas, and depositions. For each item, you can record the source, response status, linked exhibits, and notes.

In this example, you requested two records for Account A: a current statement and an older record about the account’s history. You received the current statement, but you are still waiting for the older record. Record each request separately so you can see which document you received and which one is still missing.

The notebook includes separate lists for the plaintiff’s and defendant’s exhibits. In these lists, you identify the plaintiff’s exhibits by number and the defendant’s exhibits by letter. For each exhibit, you can enter a description, the source or witness, foundation notes, admission status, and the related issue.

In this example, the Account A statement is listed as Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1. Identify the statement in the description. List the source and property issue beside it. There is also room to list a witness who may know about the exhibit.

The Financial Divorce Trial Notebook also includes a Witness List. In this section, you record identifying information about people who may testify in court. For each witness, you can list their relationship or role, the party calling the witness, and subpoena status. There is also space for a summary of expected testimony and a list of linked exhibits.

Foundation Notes is a separate column in each exhibit list. Foundation concerns the background needed to support a document’s use as evidence, including what the document is and how it can be identified. This column gives you a place to keep that preparation beside the exhibit entry. The notebook also includes a Foundations reference section and testimony outlines for the plaintiff, defendant, and other witnesses. These sections support preparation. The court decides whether to admit an exhibit into evidence.

In the State Rules section, you can record the official source for evidence requirements. Steadycase Compass provides links to your state’s official court rules. You can keep those source references alongside your preparation notes for later review.

You can record admission status, objections, and rulings beside each exhibit. In the digital workbook, the Checks section flags exhibit entries with no admission status. In the print binder, you review those entries by hand.

Now you have an exhibit number for the statement and references to the related witness and issue. You can find the document in the exhibit list and its exhibit number in the witness entry.

The benefit is the connection: the request, the received record, the exhibit identifier, and the purpose for which you have organized it. Those references make a financial file more usable than a box of unmarked papers.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.

An exhibit number. A witness name. A property inventory. By this stage, you have gathered records and organized the financial issues. The last sections of the Financial Divorce Trial Notebook help you prepare your presentation and review your file.

Relief Requested is where you record what you want the court to order. Each issue has its own row. Beside the request, you can note the legal basis, if known, and the supporting evidence. Both Plaintiff and Defendant can use this section.

For example, a property-related request might refer to Plaintiffs’ Exhibit 1, the Account A statement. The exhibit number connects the request to a specific record. You can find that statement in your exhibit list.

The Pretrial Statement section is a place to assemble a summary of the case before trial. There is space to describe the case and separate the agreed facts from the disputed issues. Other parts cover your positions, requested orders, witnesses, and exhibits.

References beside the headings point to earlier notebook sections. You can gather your witness names from the Witness List and your requests from Relief Requested. You then have the content together for the court’s required format. State Rules has space for the applicable requirements and sources.

Opening Statement and Closing Argument have separate outlines because they serve different purposes. In the opening outline, you prepare a preview of your case. In the closing outline, you organize your argument about the evidence presented.

The Opening Statement outline begins with your main theme and a brief introduction to the case. Next is space to describe what you expect the evidence to show about property, finances, and support. You finish with the requested orders and a final sentence to complete the introduction.

The Closing Argument outline returns to those issues after the evidence. Here, you can summarize what the evidence showed and explain how it supports your requests. There is also space for a response to the other side and the applicable legal standard. The outline ends with the specific orders you want from the court.

Deadlines is a single place to track due dates and their sources. Each entry identifies the deadline and the rule or order behind it. The trigger date is the date of the event that starts the time period. The status column is for tracking progress.

In the digital workbook, the formula adds the number of calendar days you enter to the trigger date. That is simple date arithmetic. Confirm the actual deadline with the clerk or the court’s current rules. In the print edition, you enter the date by hand.

Checks is the digital workbook’s automatic review page. It checks selected entries for missing information, duplicate exhibit numbers, and certain formula problems. Each check displays OK or REVIEW. Beside that result are a count and a Where to fix column identifying the relevant tab and column.

For example, two entries with the same exhibit number on one party’s list produce a REVIEW flag. You can return to that list and correct the duplicate. The count and status update automatically as you edit. These checks help catch entry problems. They do not assess the strength of your case.

The print edition has a manual Readiness Checklist. You review the sections and mark the checklist yourself, in the fillable PDF or on paper. It provides a structured final review without the spreadsheet’s automatic checks.

Your requests, supporting records, presentation outlines, and final review now have a place in the notebook. You can go through the file in an organized sequence before the hearing or trial.

The Steadycase Financial Divorce Trial Notebook. Sixty-nine dollars for the digital edition, forty-nine for print. One time, either way. Find both editions at getsteadycase.com.