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In divorce litigation, “discovery” refers to the process of obtaining information from the opposing party about issues relevant to the case. In a recent article which you can find here, we discussed the basics of discovery in divorce litigation. While discovery can be an extremely helpful – even necessary – process in a contested divorce case, it can often seem overwhelming when trying to respond to the other party’s discovery requests.
In this article, we provide a few helpful tips about responding to the opposing party’s discovery responses. By working with a family law attorney, your attorney can take a lot of the work off of your shoulders and reduce the overall stress of the process. Your family law attorney will know which information must be provided and help you navigate the discovery process. Here are a few other tips to help you respond to discovery requests in your Maryland divorce case:
When you receive discovery requests such as Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents, you typically only have 30 days to respond. Receiving these requests for information can be an overwhelming feeling. Instead of putting the discovery requests aside, try to tackle them piece by piece. For example, you can start by answering some or all of the opposing party’s Interrogatories and putting your answers into a neatly drafted document. You can then send your answers to your attorney who will review and finalize them with you.
It is important that you not delay the process of responding to discovery. If you fail to provide timely discovery responses, the opposing party may take certain actions in the case which could negatively affect you.
By organizing your discovery responses, you can be clear about the information that you have and don’t have. When answering Interrogatories, draft your answers to each specific question instead of one long essay which isn’t tailored to each Interrogatory. When providing documents, organize your documents for each request. For example, if there is a document request for bank statements, you can download your bank statements into PDF format and organize them into a specific folder. By taking an organized approach to your discovery responses, you will save yourself a lot of time and improve the overall quality of your responses.
By providing full and complete responses to discovery requests, you reduce the likelihood of the other party claiming that your responses are deficient. Simply providing some, but not all, of the requested information will often lead to discovery disputes down the road. This can result in motions being filed with the Court and increase the overall time and stress of the process.
It is important to note that you are generally only obligated to provide information and documents that are within your reasonable custody, possession or control. If the opposing party asks you for a set of documents that you do not have in your possession or cannot reasonably access, it is helpful to explain in your responses that you do not have those specific documents. This can increase transparency with the discovery process and reduce the likelihood of the opposing party claiming that you are withholding discoverable information.
Hiring a family law attorney is an extremely important step for your divorce case. An experienced family law attorney will know how to help you respond to discovery requests and in many cases, will do a significant amount of work that you would otherwise have to do. Also, your family law attorney will know when to object to certain discovery requests if they seek information which is not relevant to the case.
Robert Greenberg, Esq. and the law firm of Greenberg Legal Group LLC have extensive experience representing clients in divorce cases and handling divorce discovery issues. Our firm is located in Annapolis, Maryland and practices in Courts throughout the State of Maryland. Please contact our office at (410) 650-4242 for further assistance.
