Discovery – information for Clients

This document was created to give clients more information on discovery, but answers lots of basic questions that newer staff may have about discovery as well. Find it in MyCase under FAM – Discovery Information for Client.

Discovery

Discovery requests are a standard part of nearly every divorce or custody case so you can rest assured that you are not being subjected to something unusual or uncommon. During the discovery process, each party requests or “discovers” information from the opposing party. Generally, these request focus on financial accounts (checking, savings, investment, retirement) debts (loan, credit cards, medical bills) and property (real estate, vehicles). However, the requests can also include information related to medical/mental health issues, non-marital claims, employment, living expenses, life insurance, and child related questions (if applicable). If we haven’t already submitted our own discovery requests to the opposing attorney, we will be doing that shortly and will contact you prior to doing so. If there are specific documents or information you would like to request, please let us know and we will include those in our request.

Types of Discovery Requests

There are generally three types of discovery requests. The first is Interrogatories, which is a list of questions that must be answered. The second is Request for Production of Documents (often abbreviated as RPD) which is exactly as it sounds – a request for documents that must be provided. The third, and least common, is Request for Admissions, which is a list of more direct and specific questions that must be answered with either a yes or no.

Timeline for Responding to Discovery

        We will absolutely help you respond to these requests but, first and foremost, we need your help. These requests must be answered and returned to the other attorney no later than 30 days from the date they were sent to us. Because we need time to edit and prepare these responses, please provide your answers and documents back to us by ­­­­_________.­­­­­ It is important that we respond on time because if we don’t, the other attorney may file a Motion To Compel, which will likely include a request that you pay the opposing party’s attorney’s fees.

What We Need from You

        Please sit down with these requests as soon as possible and write or type the answers to the questions (interrogatories). Ensure each part or subpart of every question is answered in detail. Also begin locating the documents that have been requested. If there are documents that need to be requested from a financial institute or other provider, please do so immediately. Also know that most financial institutions have access to statements online via a secure client login or account. It may be quickest to log into your online account and save whatever statements are available online.  If there are documents requested that do not exist, don’t apply to your situation, or you don’t know how to obtain, please let us know.

        Some of the answers to the questions or request for documents may require a formal legal response and we will provide appropriate answers and objections when necessary. We understand that there may be questions you don’t want to answer because they are personal, embarrassing, or seem irrelevant. In those cases, please still answer the question but then also indicate why you don’t want to provide the answer to the opposing attorney.  We will discuss whether an objection is appropriate, but we will need to know the answer before we can make an informed decision.  Please understand that most objections are denied and it can be costly to make objections, so we will limit the objections we make.

Finalizing and Sending the Responses

        Once you have typed or written your answers and gathered documents, please drop them at the office, upload them to mycase, or email them to @@@@@@ at xxxxx@khmnlaw.com who will review what has been provided and begin drafting a responsive document. It’s common for us to ask for additional information or documents that may have been overlooked, so please check and respond to messages as soon as possible during this process. Once we have a final version of the responsive documents drafted, we will send them to you for a final review and signature prior to sending to the opposing attorney.

 Tips on Providing Documents

        Documents can be uploaded to MyCase, emailed, or dropped at the office. Paper documents mailed to or dropped at the office will need to be scanned into our system, so this will take us additional time and an additional expense for you. The more organized the documents, the less time it will take for us to organize them and the less it will cost you.  Please provide us with the documents as you get them rather than waiting until you have everything.  Most of the financial documents require us to “redact” certain things to comply with court rules and we need as much time to do this as possible.

We understand that the discovery process can be time consuming and feel overwhelming. Please know that we are here to help you and want to reduce your stress as much as possible. Please let us know if you are having trouble answering questions, locating documents, or if there is anything else we can do to help.