A document can be received and still leave the work unfinished. It may cover an earlier period, omit a schedule or need counsel’s review. A useful disclosure record makes those differences visible—and assigns the next step.
This guide describes a practical firm workflow. The labels below are not Court certifications or substitutes for the requirements governing a matter.
Begin with the request, then identify the gap.
For each expected item, record what is needed, the relevant period and why it is needed. Link the request, counsel’s instruction or Court direction. Keep the person responsible for providing it and the source of any date beside that record.
“Latest statement” may need clarification. If counsel asks for September, say September. If the client promises to send a statement without a date, record the promise without converting it into a deadline.
The Court of King’s Bench publishes current family-law forms, including the Financial Disclosure Statement and Notice to Disclose. Use the applicable form and instructions to establish the requirements; the inventory helps the firm carry them through. Court of King’s Bench family-law forms.
Keep receipt, relevance and review separate.
| Status | What it establishes | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| Received | The source has arrived and is recorded. | Check readability, identity, period and completeness against the request. |
| Missing | An expected source is not in the record. | Assign a follow-up, seek clarification or bring a decision to counsel. |
| Outdated for the task | The source reflects an earlier period or working position. | Keep the historical source and identify the update needed for the current task. |
| Reviewed | A defined check has been recorded. | Identify the reviewer, scope, result and any remaining issue. |
These states can coexist. An August statement can be received and reviewed while the requested September statement remains missing. “Reviewed” should say what was checked: the document’s period, its completeness, a financial issue or a proposed communication.
Use “outdated” carefully.
In the Harbour demonstration, counsel asks for a September statement and the record contains August. The earlier statement does not answer that request. It has not become legally expired simply because the example asks for another month.
Court requirements can impose specific recency and completeness standards. The June 2026 FFP Manual addresses financial disclosure and supporting material in its MIT guidance and its financial-disclosure discussion. Check the applicable requirement and the current version before deciding whether an update is needed. FFP Manual, June 2026, pages 59–60.
A useful record separates three dates: the period the document covers, when the firm received it and when someone reviewed it. None should silently replace a date specified by a rule, order or instruction.
Turn the gap into prepared work.
The inventory becomes more useful when each unresolved item has an owner and a next step. For a missing statement, that might be a client email for counsel’s review, a question for the next conference or a decision about a further procedural step.
A prepared follow-up can identify the document and period precisely:
Please provide the September 2026 bank statement, or let us know when you expect it. The August statement is on file; September remains outstanding for the conference preparation.
This is fictional sample wording, not a demand tied to a legal deadline. Counsel decides whether it should be sent, changed or held. Recording review of the email does not mark the document received.
When the source arrives, update the work as well as the row.
Add the new source to the matter and link it to the request it may satisfy. Check its period and contents. Retain the earlier source so the record explains what changed.
Then revisit the work already prepared. A missing-document follow-up may no longer be appropriate. The next step may become review of the new statement, correction of the conference brief or a different question for the client. An existing review should not be carried onto materially changed work without another check.
Receipt resolves a receipt issue. It does not by itself establish that disclosure is complete, sufficient, served, filed or approved for use.
Carry the record into FFP preparation.
Before preparing the next package or conference material, reconcile the document inventory with the applicable requirements, source versions and counsel’s instructions. Make missing or unresolved items visible in the preparation instead of treating the presence of a folder as proof of completion.
The Court’s FFP page links the current notice, manual, supplemental materials and forms. Use those materials for the governing process and check for updates. Court of King’s Bench Family Focused Protocol.
A working record to keep beside the matter.
- Expected: document, period and source of the requirement.
- Received: the actual file, arrival record and reading status.
- Reviewed: who checked it, what they checked and the result.
- Outstanding: the unresolved question, owner and next step.
- Prepared: the current follow-up, brief or draft linked to counsel’s direction.
- External action: any separate authorization and evidence of sending, service or filing.
NISI’s financial disclosure demonstration follows this distinction through one fictional Harbour inventory. Add a sample statement, inspect its period and see the prepared work change. The demonstration is scripted; it does not connect to client accounts or perform external actions.
See the gap become a next step.
Explore the inventory, give direction and follow the resulting work.
Explore financial disclosure