What Happens in a Divorce Deposition?

 Posted on June 29, 2023 in Divorce

In every court case, the parties have the right to discovery, where they can gather evidence that is in the possession of the other party. In addition to document requests, they can also personally question the other party and witnesses in a deposition. This proceeding can be crucial to your case, and it is essential that you are prepared. Your Wheaton divorce attorney would be in the deposition to defend you.

A Deposition Means Answering a Lot of Questions

Opposing counsel have a legal right to ask you questions, and they will pose quite a few of them during the course of the deposition. This proceeding will involve a series of questions, where the other attorney is attempting to gather information. The attorney may show you evidence and ask you questions about it, or they may ask a long series of questions. So long as these questions follow the proper rules (i.e, they are relevant, non-argumentative, non-repetitive, etc), you will need to answer them.

Depositions Are Difficult But Not Dramatic

Depositions are not like the climactic courtroom scenes that you may come to expect from watching television. They will usually happen in a lawyer’s office, and there will only be a handful of people present. You can expect to go through a draining and difficult day, but there will generally not be dramatic “gotcha” moments. The lawyer is trying to gather evidence and get you on the record in case you need to testify at trial.

A Bad Deposition Can Harm Your Case

You may not be able to win a case at deposition, but you can certainly lose it. Once you have testified at deposition, you cannot testify at trial in a manner that is inconsistent with the testimony that you have given. If opposing counsel gets damaging evidence from their questioning, it could put them in a strong position at trial. Still, you must answer questions honestly because you are under oath.

While the facts do not change, the key is to prepare thoroughly with your lawyer ahead of time for the deposition. 

Contact a DuPage County Family Law Attorney for Help with Your Divorce

The attorneys at Goostree Law Group will work with you at every step of the way during your divorce case. Our Wheaton divorce law attorneys will make sure that you know what to expect at key moments like a deposition. You can reach us for a free consultation by calling us at 630-364-4046. 

Source:

https://www.law.uw.edu/news-events/news/2022/preparing-for-a-deposition