Definition: The Statement of Financial Affairs is a document that must be completed by a debtor filing for bankruptcy. The Statement of Financial Affairs requires a detailed listing of, among other items, the debtor's businesses, property transfers, and lawsuits. This document gives the debtor's creditors and the trustee a further glimpse into the debtor's financial affairs, in addition to the bankruptcy schedules.
However, unlike the bankruptcy schedules, the Statement of Financial Affairs provides a more comprehensive picture of a debtor's financial life. Not only does the document require current financial information, it requires disclosure of many different types of transactions that occurred years prior to the bankruptcy filing, such as gifts and payments to creditors.
Also Known As: SOFA
Examples:
Question 7 of the Statement of Financial Affairs requires that the debtor disclose any gifts received within one year prior to the bankruptcy filing.