What You Can Expect in Your Divorce

When spouses cannot agree to the terms of a divorce, the case then goes to court. Before your court date, there is a substantial amount of information that both parties need to exchange to prepare for the trial. The process of gathering this information is known as discovery. Here are a few parts of the discovery process:

Interrogatories are questions posed by one party to the other. The recipient has 30 days to respond to or answer the questions.

The Request for Production of Documents is the process where one party discloses certain documents to the other party. Common documents in this process are pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, property deeds, photographs, and car titles. As with interrogatories, the party has 30 days to respond.

Income and Expense Statements outline the amount of money coming in and the amount going out.

The List of Marital Property and Debt names all items purchased or acquired during the marriage, their current market value, and any debt accumulated throughout the marriage.

The List of Non-Marital Property and Debt details all the items or debt you or your spouse brought into the marriage or acquired by inheritance during the marriage.

Depositions may also occur. These are sessions where a witness is under oath and must answer all questions. A court reporter documents the entire sessions. They include not just the parties in the case, but also any important witnesses.

Subpoenas may be issued. They are orders issued by the court demanding for certain records to be produced or for a witness to appear for testimony in court or during a deposition. Both parties may issue subpoenas for records or witness testimonies.