Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 40. FAMILY LAW

CHAPTER 4. TERMINATION OF MARRIAGE, CHILD CUSTODY, SUPPORT

Part 2. Support, Custody, Visitation, and Related Provisions

Preliminary Declaration Of Disclosure -- Penalty

40-4-252. Preliminary declaration of disclosure -- penalty. (1) Within 60 days of service of a petition for dissolution or nullity of marriage or for legal separation of the parties, each party shall serve on the other party a preliminary declaration of disclosure, executed under penalty of perjury. The parties may, by written stipulation or by oral stipulation made in open court, agree to waive the exchange of or change the time for exchange of preliminary declarations of disclosure.

(2) The preliminary declaration of disclosure may not be filed with the court, except on the court's order.

(3) The preliminary declaration of disclosure must set forth with sufficient particularity, which a person of reasonable and ordinary intelligence can ascertain, all of the following:

(a) the identity of all assets in which the declarant has or may have an interest and all liabilities for which the declarant is or may be liable, regardless of the characterization of an asset or liability; and

(b) the declarant's percentage of ownership in each asset and percentage of obligation for each liability when property is not solely owned by one or both of the parties. The preliminary declaration may also set forth the declarant's characterization of each asset or liability.

(4) A declarant may amend the declarant's preliminary declaration of disclosure without permission of the court.

(5) Along with the preliminary declaration of disclosure, each party shall provide the other party with a completed income and expense declaration unless an income and expense declaration has already been provided and is current and valid.

(6) In addition to any other civil or criminal remedy available under law for the commission of perjury, the court may set aside the judgment, or part of the judgment, if the court discovers that a party has committed perjury in the preliminary declaration of disclosure.

History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 326, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 545, L. 1999.