The NJ Case Information Statement is the sworn financial disclosure form both spouses must file in any contested family court case involving support, alimony, custody, or equitable distribution. It reports your income, monthly expenses, assets, and debts on a standardized form so the judge can see the economic reality of both sides. The numbers you put on it drive child support, alimony, and how marital property gets divided, so accuracy matters more than most people realize when they first sit down with the blank form.
Who Has to File and When
New Jersey Court Rule 5:5-2 requires a CIS in all contested family actions where custody, support, alimony, or equitable distribution is at issue. That covers nearly every divorce, dissolution of a civil union, and termination of a domestic partnership involving money or children. If none of those issues apply, a judge or either party can still request one by motion.
Both sides file. The plaintiff files the CIS with the initial pleadings. The defendant must file within 20 days after submitting an Answer or Appearance.1New Jersey Courts. Family Part Case Information Statement – Appendix V Summary family actions, typically uncontested matters with no financial disputes, are the only exemption. Everyone else files or risks having their pleadings dismissed.
What the Form Asks For
The CIS is organized into seven parts, each covering a different slice of your finances:2New Jersey Judiciary. Family Part Case Information Statement
- Part A, Case Information, identifies the parties, lists the issues in dispute, and provides details about any children.
- Part B, Miscellaneous Information, covers employment details, insurance coverage, and any prior or pending family court actions.
- Part C, Income Information, breaks down last year’s gross income, current earnings, and year-to-date figures for both earned and unearned income.
- Part D, Monthly Expenses, itemizes your budget across four schedules: shelter, transportation, personal costs, and non-recurring expenses. You report both the joint marital lifestyle expenses and your current individual expenses.
- Part E, Balance Sheet, lists every asset and every liability with current values and ownership designations.
- Part F, Special Problems, is a brief narrative section for anything unusual the court should know about.
- Part G, Required Attachments, is a checklist of the documents you must attach to the form.
Part D is where most people undercount. Judges use those numbers to gauge the marital standard of living, and a budget that looks artificially low raises credibility issues that can affect alimony and support outcomes. Understating expenses now can also lower the court’s assessment of the marital standard, which may cap any future alimony award.
On Part E, each asset must reflect its current fair market value or exact balance as of the filing date. Where a precise value is unknown, such as a home, a collectible, or a private business interest, provide a reasonable estimate based on an appraisal or market comparison. You must also identify whether each asset is jointly held or individually owned, because that designation feeds directly into the equitable distribution analysis.
Retirement Accounts and Pensions
Retirement benefits earned during the marriage are typically marital property subject to division, and they are often the second-largest asset after the family home. For defined-benefit pensions, report the plan name, your years of participation, and the projected benefit amount. For defined-contribution accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs, report the current balance. Dividing these accounts after judgment requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, and in New Jersey the Division of Pensions and Benefits must review and approve the order before it takes effect.3NJ.gov. Qualified Domestic Relations Order QDRO Getting the CIS figures right from the start makes drafting the QDRO far less contentious later.
Business Ownership Interests
If you own all or part of a privately held business, expect this section to be scrutinized. Provide the business name, your ownership percentage, and a good-faith estimate of value. For businesses that generate significant revenue, a professional valuation by a forensic accountant is often necessary, but courts want to see at least a reasonable estimate on the form even if a full appraisal comes later during discovery.
Documents to Gather Before You Start
Pull your supporting records together before you touch the form. The CIS instructions require you to attach your most recent federal and state income tax returns along with W-2s, 1099s, and Schedule Cs.2New Jersey Judiciary. Family Part Case Information Statement You also need your three most recent pay stubs, which the form uses to calculate average gross weekly income.1New Jersey Courts. Family Part Case Information Statement – Appendix V
Beyond tax records and pay stubs, organize:
- Recent statements for checking, savings, and brokerage accounts. These verify both the asset balances on Part E and the spending patterns behind your Part D expenses.
- Current balances, monthly payments, and interest rates for mortgages and other loans.
- Recent quarterly or annual statements for 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, and any other retirement plans.
- Health, life, auto, and homeowner insurance policies, including premiums and beneficiary designations.
- Corporate benefit statements showing stock options, deferred compensation, or a company vehicle if your employer provides them.
Filing and Serving the CIS
Self-represented litigants can upload the completed CIS through the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) system, which accepts filings around the clock.4New Jersey Courts. Judiciary Electronic Document Submission JEDS If you prefer paper, deliver or mail the form to the Family Division Manager’s office in the county where your case is filed. Attorneys use eCourts for electronic filing.
Filing alone is not enough. You must simultaneously serve a complete copy of the CIS, including all attached tax returns and pay stubs, on the other party or their attorney. File a certification of mailing or other proof of service with the court to show you met the obligation. Skipping or delaying service invites sanctions and can stall your case at the worst possible time.
Keeping the CIS Current
Filing the CIS once does not end your obligation. Rule 5:5-2(c) imposes a continuing duty to inform the court of any material change to the information on the form. If you lose a job, receive an inheritance, sell a property, or take on significant new debt after filing, you must submit an amended CIS.
The hard deadline is 20 days before the final hearing. All amendments must be filed by that date.1New Jersey Courts. Family Part Case Information Statement – Appendix V Miss that cutoff and the court can bar you from introducing any financial evidence that was not previously disclosed. A raise you received six months ago but never reported could be excluded from the support calculation, which cuts both ways depending on which side of the equation you are on.
How Judges Use the Numbers
The CIS is the foundation for nearly every financial decision the court makes in your case.
Child Support
New Jersey’s child support guidelines are income-driven. The guidelines start with each parent’s combined net income, meaning gross earnings minus taxes, mandatory retirement contributions, union dues, and any previously ordered support obligations. The income figures on Part C feed directly into the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, which produces a presumptive support amount. Sloppy CIS numbers produce sloppy support numbers.
Alimony
Judges look at the gap between each party’s income and the marital standard of living. The Part D expense schedules showing joint lifestyle costs during the marriage are especially important here, because they establish what standard of living both parties were accustomed to.
Equitable Distribution
New Jersey law lists 16 factors courts must consider when dividing marital property, including each party’s income, earning capacity, contributions to the marriage, economic circumstances, and the tax consequences of a proposed distribution.5Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 2A:34-23.1 – Equitable Distribution Criteria Almost every one of those factors maps to a section of the CIS. The balance sheet in Part E shows what there is to divide; Parts C and D show each party’s capacity to absorb the division. Judges are required to make specific findings of fact on asset eligibility, valuation, and distribution, and the CIS is the evidentiary backbone for those findings.
Confidentiality and Redaction
The CIS and all its attachments are confidential. Rule 5:5-2(f) and Rule 1:38-3(d)(1) exclude the document from public access, so it cannot be viewed by anyone who is not a party to the case.6New Jersey Courts. Notice – Clarification of Rule 1:38 – Family Part Records That confidentiality survives even when the CIS is attached to an otherwise public document like a motion.
Because the CIS itself is confidential, you do not need to redact Social Security numbers or financial account numbers from it. Any other document you file that is not confidential must have those identifiers redacted under Rule 1:38-7. Active financial accounts can be identified by their last four digits when the account is the subject of the litigation.7New Jersey Courts. Notice – Appellate Division Reminder to Counsel Regarding Rule 1:38-7 After a final judgment, the court orders the return of any income tax returns filed with the CIS.
Penalties for Skipping or Lying
The CIS is a verified statement signed under penalty of perjury.
If you simply fail to file, the court can dismiss your pleadings on its own initiative or on the other party’s motion. Dismissed pleadings can be reinstated only on conditions the court considers fair, which often means paying the other side’s attorney fees for the delay.1New Jersey Courts. Family Part Case Information Statement – Appendix V Failure to provide a CIS before an early settlement panel can also result in counsel fee sanctions or dismissal of your claims.
Intentional concealment carries much steeper consequences. A judge who discovers hidden accounts or understated values can award the concealed assets entirely to the other spouse, impose contempt sanctions including fines or jail time, and reopen finalized settlements years after the divorce. Because the form is signed under oath, deliberate misstatements can also trigger criminal perjury charges.
Marital Standard of Living Declaration at Settlement
Any settlement that includes an alimony award must address the marital standard of living. Rule 5:5-2(e) gives the parties four options: include a declaration in the agreement that the standard is satisfied, stipulate to a defined standard, preserve copies of the filed CIS forms until alimony terminates, or prepare Part D of the CIS if one was never filed. The marital standard of living is the benchmark for future alimony modification motions, so locking it down at settlement is far easier than trying to reconstruct it years later when circumstances change.