What Happens During Divorce Discovery in Illinois?

 Posted on September 01, 2021 in Divorce

If you are getting divorced, you may be completely unsure of what to expect. How long will the divorce take? Will I need to go to court? What steps are involved in the divorce process? Questions like these are important. While there is no way to predict exactly how your divorce case will unfold, educating yourself about the Illinois divorce process will help you prepare for the different possibilities. The “discovery” phase of the divorce involves gathering facts and information using discovery tools such as interrogatories and depositions.

Discovery Depends on the Spouses’ Transparency

Divorcing spouses are asked to fill out a financial disclosure form in which they list assets, income, and other financial data. If both spouses freely disclose accurate financial data and other relevant information, the discovery process involves little more than confirming this information. Unfortunately, in many divorce cases, spouses are not fully transparent about financial issues or other divorce concerns. They may refuse to disclose certain information, hide assets, or lie about parenting matters. Consequently, the spouses’ attorneys must use various legal methods to obtain this information and ensure its accuracy.

Types of Discovery Tools Your Attorney May Use to Gather Information

Interrogatories are formal questions that a divorce attorney may send the other spouse. Document Requests are, as the name states, requests for certain records or documents. You or your spouse may be asked to turn over bank account statements, retirement account or life insurance statements, credit card statements, tax returns, mortgage statements, property appraisals, and more.

Admissions of Fact or Requests for Admissions are statements that a spouse is asked to confirm or deny. These statements may address financial concerns, child-related concerns, infidelity, or any number of issues that are relevant to the divorce proceedings. When a divorcing spouse responds to Interrogatories or Admissions of Fact, he or she is under oath and therefore legally required to answer honestly. Lying under oath is not only a crime, it also deeply damages a spouse’s credibility during the rest of the case.

Depositions are in-person meetings during which a spouse is asked a series of questions under oath. During a deposition, anything said by the participants is documented by a court reporter. The statements made during a deposition may be used later in the proceedings.

Subpoenas are different from other discovery tools, but they are a useful way to gather information in a divorce. A subpoena is a court order that requires another party to carry out certain tasks. For example, a subpoena may require someone to attend a hearing or force a company to produce certain documents.

Contact a DuPage County Divorce Lawyer

The skilled Wheaton divorce attorneys at Goostree Law Group understand how to use legal tools like depositions and subpoenas to build a strong case on behalf of our clients. Call us at 630-364-4046 for a free, confidential consultation to learn more.

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=8300000&SeqEnd=10000000