Friday, September 7, 2012

Rules of Family Law

The first rule of family law and divorce is mandatory disclosure. These disclosures are filed shortly after the respondent answers and counters petitions to the divorce. Disclosure comprises all financial papers including bank account statements, retirement accounts, credit card statements as well as titles to homes and vehicles.

Student loan statements also need to be included. Both parties need copies of financial documents and a family law financial affidavit must be filed with the court. The second rule involves interrogatories that are used in contested cases. This is a procedure when assets and liabilities are involved. Interrogatories are questions that both parties need to answer and most states limit the number of question that can be asked. You need to respond to each question fully; nothing can be left blank, and if you do not have the property questioned in your possession, you need to indicate where the property is located. Thirdly is the request for admissions.

This is a form of discovery governed by family law rules. This request for admissions is required from the served party. The request for admission requires specific information about certain activities. Custody cases can be held to find information about children who have been injured or taken to a doctors for an emergency. Doctors, frequency of visits and reasons for visits need to be documented. Additional requests of admissions can involve documents hidden or forged by one party, lack of forthcoming information, or ignoring a request. Fourth is the deposition phase.

These are very common in family law and divorce and cover topics from contention to custody to financial issues. Depositions are always taken under oath and in front of a judge. If divorce attorneys are involved the attorney may attend the deposition with the client, but this is not mandatory. Depositions are recorded by court reporters, either through video or tape recorder and given to opposing attorneys. These depositions are filed with the court and become part of the family law documents.
DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice or relied upon as legal advice. nmarangi@pacbell.net

No comments:

Post a Comment