Divorce discovery is the process in which each party’s attorneys exchange information about their clients’ finances. Each side must participate in the process in good faith and provide complete, honest information. A failure to do so could result in some penalties, and in the noncompliant party getting a worse outcome in the divorce.
Here’s an overview of what you can expect from the process.
- Interrogatories: These are written questions each party is required to answer under oath, and under penalty of perjury. The questions might be about a person’s background, their financial situation, their owned assets and accounts and anything else that may be important for a divorce.
- Subpoenas: Subpoenas are court documents used to seek information from people or entities that are not a part of the lawsuit. For example, you could subpoena a bank for financial records.
- Depositions: In some cases, lawyers may schedule depositions, in which the witnesses called answer questions in front of a lawyer and court reporter. Depositions may be filmed or recorded. Like with interrogatories, the responses to these questions are provided under oath and under penalty of perjury. Depositions typically take place at an attorney’s office.
- Requests for admission: These short questions are used to quickly discern simple facts. The respondent either confirms or denies the statements or questions. These tools are used to solidify facts and to prevent people from changing their stories at a trial or in a court setting.
The amount of time it takes for the divorce discovery process to finish depends on the complexity of the marital estate. Couples that have more assets, debts and business interests will be able to expect a longer discovery process for their divorce case.
For more information about the discovery process, contact an experienced Minnesota divorce lawyer at Appelhof, Pfeifer & Hart, P.A.
