Useful records include employment contracts or confirmations, payroll evidence, relevant tax records and bank statements showing accumulation. Dividend funding also calls for evidence of the business interest and the distribution’s basis.
Make the chronology testable
Index the records by year and source, then reconcile material deposits and later transfers. Identify any periods for which statements are unavailable and discuss alternative evidence with counsel. Do not assume that a recent balance certificate replaces historical proof.
Keep the final investment transfer and applicable fee payments connected to the same documented pool of funds. Make the chronology testable by ensuring each assertion can be checked against something. Take the period year by year and record the income received, its source, the tax filed, and the closing balance held.
Attach a representative document to each entry rather than the complete set, and hold the remainder available. Where a year contains an unusual movement, deal with it in that year rather than in a general note. Employment letters, tax assessments and bank statements are the backbone; where an employer no longer exists or a bank cannot produce records beyond a period, document the request and the response.
The objective is a table a reader can audit at any point they choose, which is a considerably stronger position than a folder of statements accompanied by a summary nobody can verify.