Often, people get through the temporary orders process and think to themselves, "The biggest headache in this process is behind me."
In many cases, this is entirely true. As I have indicated in several other places, the bulk of work in many family law cases happens on the front end as the parties rush to the Court and get rulings on custody, child support, maintenance, and the like. Often, after those things settle down, the parties can adjust to a "new normal" and work out final orders as time passes and tensions decompress.
In some cases, though, there is still quite a bit of work to be done between temporary orders and meaningful settlement discussions (or trial). That work primarily consists of discovery. "Discovery" is a legal term which means the process of the parties doing all the fact-finding and investigation needed to be well-informed on all the issues in the case. This can take a few forms.
The primary forms used in family law cases are subpoenas, interrogatories, and requests for production. (Depositions are also used, but more rarely, and I will cover them in their own post.)
Subpoenas are essentially parties forcing third parties (non-litigants) to produce documents related to the case through court order. Typical examples of subpoenas would be sending one to a party's employer to get his or her earning records and benefits statements. Another common example would be send one to a financial institution to get records for all of the other party's bank account.
Interrogatories are written questions that you have to answer under oath within 30 days from when they are served on you by the other party. Great care has to be taken in answering them, since these statements are 100% admissible in trial.
Requests for production are exactly what they sound like. The other party requests that you produce evidence in your possession for copying or inspection, and if you refuse to do so, you have to explain the legal basis for why. Interrogatories and requests for production are usually sent at the same time.
The volume of discovery in family law cases can be staggering. To give you perspective, in federal court, you are often limited to proposing thirty interrogatories (written questions under oath). It is not uncommon for family law cases to involve more than 100. This is partially due to the nature of the subject matter. For instance, in a personal injury case, you are just asking about one car crash. In a family law case, you might need to ask about parenting issues, health issues, financial information, employment information, retirement information, and proposed resolutions for all of these issues.
As you might imagine, this type of high-volume discovery can be extraordinarily expensive, as you have to answer these questions, produce the documents, and review them all with your lawyer.
I highly recommend speaking with your lawyer about what discovery really needs to be done. Often, there are cases where there is only one or two areas where there needs to be fact finding. Parties will often (through their lawyers) cooperate and produce these things informally so that the parties do no spend a fortune.
Be wary of any lawyer that insists on massive paper discovery, even in relatively simple cases. Some lawyers, unfortunately, use this process as a way to "push paper" and drive up their clients' bills, which reduces the amount the clients have to settle the case and increases hostility between the parties.
The better practice is to identify with your lawyer what information is truly relevant and needed, and then devise a plan to get it in the most efficient manner possible.
There is a "flip side" to that coin, however, and it is important that you understand it. Sometimes lawyers will insist on discovery even when you'd rather just "get the case over with." This may seem suspiciously like the paper pushing I described above, but it isn't. A lawyer is advising you on something with absolutely massive implications between child custody and property division.
If, later on after the divorce is finalized, facts are discovered that would have had a massive impact on the proceeding that the lawyer did not bother asking about, he may be facing a malpractice claim. Because of those concerns, I sometimes do tell clients that I am not comfortable negotiating / mediating / etc. until I have certain information. It is not unlike a doctor insisting on x-rays and tests. They may seem onerous, but with good reason, they are part of our professional "due diligence."
The real discipline is to be able to make sure you clearly understand why the expense of discovery is needed in your case, and if it justifies the acquisition of the potential information you might get.
Hopefully this gives you some perspective on what discovery might look like in a Snohomish County Courtroom. As always, I hope this helps you get through this process.
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