DIVORCE Litigation

Divorce Litigation involves many steps of preparation depending on the issues of disagreement between the parties. Possible necessary steps are as follows.

Exchange of Documents

The parties will provide each other with extensive financial information for the determination of child support, spousal support, division of assets and division of responsibility for debts. These documents commonly include the preparation of a financial affidavit of each party’s income, expenses, assets and debts. Each party will also provide years of financial records such as bank accounts, tax returns, credit statements and retirement plan statements.

Discovery Requests

Litigation may involve written questions called interrogatories or verbal questioning called depositions. Because both forms of questioning require you to give an oath that you have provided truthful answers as your lawyer I help prepare to answer them appropriately. I also advise as to the nature of questioning you may wish to send to your spouse.

Hearings

Divorce litigation may require one or more appearances before a judge. These hearings may to establish a Temporary Order which dictates where each spouse lives and their financial responsibilities during the divorce process. A Contempt Hearing may be requested if one spouse is behaving badly with conduct or financial issues. A Final Hearing requires the judge to determine all remaining issues of disagreement between the spouses on a permanent basis. Before each hearing, I discuss with each client, our goals for the hearing, possible witnesses or affidavits needed, and prepare the client to confidently testify as to his or her needs or concerns.