Oregon Revised Statute 107.089 requires both spouses in a divorce or legal separation to exchange a defined set of financial records within 30 days after being served with a copy of the statute. The point is to put income, assets, and debts on the table early so the case can settle or go to trial on shared information. Miss the deadline and the court can order you to pay the other side’s attorney fees, bar you from using evidence at trial, or postpone a support hearing.
When the 30-Day Clock Starts
The disclosure duty does not begin the moment a petition is filed. It begins when a party is actually served with a copy of ORS 107.089 itself.1Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 107.089 – Documents Parties Must Furnish to Each Other
Under ORS 107.088, the court clerk gives the petitioner a copy of ORS 107.089 at filing. The petitioner can then serve that copy on the respondent, and the respondent can independently serve a copy on the petitioner at any time.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.088 – Clerk of Court to Furnish Certain Information When Petition Is Filed Whoever is served has 30 days from that date to deliver the documents. A party who is never served with the statute technically has no obligation under it, but withholding service also means you cannot demand records from the other side. In contested cases, both parties usually serve each other quickly for that reason.
The statute applies to dissolution of marriage and legal separation. Annulment cases are not covered.1Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 107.089 – Documents Parties Must Furnish to Each Other
Documents You Have to Turn Over
You must provide the documents listed in the statute that are already in your possession or control. The categories are built to cover income, assets, and debts from several directions:
- All federal and state income tax returns filed by either party for the last three calendar years, including schedules and attachments.
- If the most recent year’s return has not been filed, W-2s, year-end payroll statements, interest and dividend statements, and other records of income earned during the last calendar year.
- All records of income earned or received by either party during the current calendar year. This reaches beyond pay stubs to freelance income, rental income, and investment proceeds.
- Any financial statements, net-worth statements, and credit card or loan applications prepared by or for either party during the last two calendar years.1Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 107.089 – Documents Parties Must Furnish to Each Other
- Deeds, real estate contracts, appraisals, and the most recent assessed-value statements for any real property either party has an interest in.
- The most recent statement for every loan, credit line, and credit card balance either party owes.1Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 107.089 – Documents Parties Must Furnish to Each Other
- The most recent statement for any retirement plan, IRA, pension, profit-sharing plan, stock option plan, or deferred compensation plan either party has an interest in.1Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 107.089 – Documents Parties Must Furnish to Each Other
- Life insurance policies and health insurance plans.
If you own a business, expect to produce records that show both the business’s value and your income from it. Tax returns pick up part of that picture through K-1s and Schedule C, but profit-and-loss statements, balance sheets, and partnership agreements may also apply depending on how the business is set up.
Reading the list too narrowly is a common mistake. If a document relates to income, assets, or debts and you have it, disclosing it is safer than arguing it falls outside the statute.
Delivery can go by mail, hand delivery, or electronic means, so long as the other side actually receives the materials inside the 30-day window. If you cannot pull everything together in time, request an extension from the court or get a written agreement with the other party. Silence is the worst option.
Updating What You’ve Disclosed
The duty does not end once the first batch of documents goes out. A new job, a newly discovered debt, the sale of property, or a meaningful change in income all call for supplemental disclosure. Courts expect both parties to keep their financial picture honest and current until a final judgment is entered.
What Happens If You Don’t Comply
Motion to Compel and Mandatory Attorney Fees
If you fail to produce the documents, the other party can file a motion to compel under ORCP 46.1Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 107.089 – Documents Parties Must Furnish to Each Other When the court grants that motion and finds the refusal was willful, it must order you to pay the other side’s reasonable expenses, including attorney fees.3Oregon Judicial Department. ORS 107.089 – Documents Parties in Suit Must Furnish to Each Other For a willful violation of ORS 107.089, the judge has no discretion to waive the fee award.
Evidence Exclusion at Trial
ORCP 46 also lets the court bar a disobedient party from offering designated evidence at trial.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 46 If you withheld a bank statement showing a hidden account, you can be blocked from later using records from that same account to support your own position on asset division. This sanction can effectively keep you from proving your own case.
Postponed Support Hearings
The statute carves out a special rule when a support hearing is scheduled less than 30 days after a party is served. The income documents (tax returns, W-2s, current earnings records, and financial statements) take on added weight. If the person who owes support has not produced those records before the hearing, the court must postpone the hearing at the other party’s request. The same rule works in reverse against a party seeking support who has not disclosed income records.3Oregon Judicial Department. ORS 107.089 – Documents Parties in Suit Must Furnish to Each Other The postponement is not discretionary.
Protecting Sensitive Information
Handing records to the other party does not strip them of all protection. If your documents contain third-party information, trade secrets, or details that are irrelevant to the case but harmful if released, you can ask the court for a protective order. That order may limit who sees the documents, require redaction of items like Social Security numbers or third-party account numbers, or restrict use of the materials to this litigation.
Attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine still apply. Communications with your attorney about legal strategy and your attorney’s analysis prepared for the litigation are not disclosable. But a tax return or bank statement does not become privileged just because you handed it to your lawyer. The raw financial records remain subject to disclosure no matter who holds them.