Going through a divorce means making some major household adjustments. Spouses often begin living separately even before they finalize the divorce. They may have to reach agreements related to parenting matters and property division.
If divorcing spouses cannot reach settlements on their own, then they need to prepare for litigation in family court. In scenarios involving litigation, formal discovery is often part of the process.
What is discovery?
Discovery is the right to have access to complete and accurate information related to a legal matter. During divorce proceedings, several types of information may be subject to discovery rules. Spouses frequently have to make in-depth financial disclosures to one another. Those disclosures can help people track down hidden assets or provide that dissipation occurred.
Discovery can also extend to electronic records, such as conduct on social media or email messages. Particularly in scenarios involving infidelity, abuse or other significant marital misconduct, discovery may extend well beyond basic financial records and into details of people’s employment and personal relationships.
Discovery can help people validate the extent of the marital estate. It may help one spouse exclude certain debts from the marital estate. Discovery can also help establish that infidelity or defamation occurred.
Formal discovery can be beneficial
Formal discovery can be a lengthy process. The documents produced by either spouse may require in-depth review by the lawyer representing the other spouse. As such, discovery can potentially increase how long it takes to complete divorce negotiations and the total cost involved with finalizing a divorce. The more information that the courts and lawyers need to review, the longer the divorce may take and the more it might cost.
Formal discovery can be beneficial, as spouses may be legally responsible in scenarios where they misrepresent their resources or intentionally fail to disclose important information. In high-conflict divorces where misconduct is likely, people may want to bypass alternative options like mediation or out-of-court settlement to secure the protection extended by formal discovery.
Reviewing the circumstances leading to a pending divorce can help people decide the best way to approach the process. Formal discovery is one of several legal protections available for those preparing for the end of a marriage.