Interrogatories

Interrogatories (Requests for Further Information) are often used in the divorce process as written questions dealing with legal or factual contentions. These requests for further information are asked by one of the parties in the divorce, and are required to be answered by the other party. The primary purpose of interrogatories is to bring to light certain matters in the divorce and present the facts to be used in the divorce case in advance.

Most interrogatories are used to obtain background information on each party in the divorce that is not specific to the proceedings. The fact that most requests for further information are used in getting general information, it is possible that standard forms are used, making this process as efficient as possible.

Depositions

A deposition is a generic legal term that refers to written or oral questions.

Written Depositions

In a written deposition, a notice of intent is the document that contains the questions for the deponent to respond to. The deponent is then asked the questions (as well as any cross, redirect, and recross questions) contained in the notice of intent by a stenographer or court reporter. This method of deposition is often used when one party is unable to be present at the hearing and the most convenient way to depose is via the telephone.

Oral Depositions

In an oral deposition, the deponent is asked questions directly. The deponent’s answers are then recorded by a stenographer or court reporter. However, the answers may be recorded by videotape, audiotape, or in some cases over the phone. This deposition method is used when there appears to be a need for extensive follow-up questioning. An oral deposition also gives the attorney to view the body language of the deponent. It should be noted that an oral deposition is more expensive than a written deposition.

Request for Disclosure

Requet for disclosure is one aspect of the divorce discovery process. The purpose is to “discover” all relevant information about each party in the divorce. In the request for disclosure phase, there is no preparation used for a lengthy inquiry, and no objections in discovering specific categories of information. If one party in the divorce wants the other party to disclose certain information that has not been discivered, they must serve the other party with the following request defined in Rule 194:

Pursuant to Rule 194, you are requested to disclose, within 30 days of service of this request, the information or material described in Rule 194, and then cites the applicable subsections it is requesting, for example, 194.2, or 194.2(a), (c), and (f), or 194.2(d)-(g). The request of the subsections are:

a. the correct names of the parties to the lawsuit;
b. the name, address, and telephone number of any potential parties;
c. the legal theories and, in general, the factual bases of the responding party’s claims or defenses (the responding party need not marshal all evidence that may be offered at trial);
d. the amount and any method of calculating economic damages;
e. the name, address, and telephone number of persons having knowledge of relevant facts, and a brief statement of each identified person’s connection with the case;
f. for any testifying expert:
1. the expert’s name, address, and telephone number;
2. the subject matter on which the expert will testify;
3. the general substance of the expert’s mental impressions and opinions and a brief summary of the basis for them, or if the expert is not retained by, employed by, or otherwise subject to the control of the responding party, documents reflecting such information;
4. if the expert is retained by, employed by, or otherwise subject to the control of the responding party:
A. all documents, tangible things, reports, models, or data compilations that have been provided to, reviewed by, or prepared by or for the expert in anticipation of the expert’s testimony; and
B. the expert’s current resume and bibliography;
g. any indemnity and insuring agreements described in Rule 192.3(f);
h. any settlement agreements described in Rule 192.3(g);
i. any witness statements described in Rule 192.3(h);
j. in a suit alleging physical or mental injury and damages from the occurrence that is the subject of the case, all medical records and bills that are reasonably related to the injuries or damages asserted or, in lieu thereof, an authorization permitting the disclosure of such medical records and bills;
k. in a suit alleging physical or mental injury and damages from the occurrence that is the subject of the case, all medical records and bills obtained by the responding party by virtue of an authorization furnished by the requesting party.

Divorce Decree

The final decree of divorce is one of the last things that happens in the divorce process. It is the court’s formal order that grants the termination of marriage. The signing and dating of the divorce decree may also confirm a judgment in the cases where the divorce goes to trial.

The divorce decree covers many of the same issues as in a separation agreement or divorce settlement agreement. It covers issues such as alimony, child support, child custody, property division, and visitation.

Once the divorce decree is ordered by the courts, it is archived in the vital records office in your county’s courthouse. In most cases, both parties in the divorce will be mailed a copy of the divorce decree as well. In addition to this, copies may be requested from the court clerks office.

Original Petition for Divorce

The original petition for divorce (known as a letter of complaint in some states), is the document that initiates the divorce process when filed with the court clerk. In starting the divorce, the original petition for divorce requests that the courts grant a divorce and also list out everything that the person filing for divorce feels that he or she is due.

The letter of complaint is also used to define all the parties involved in the divorce. This includes both spouses, and any children that the couple has had together. The reason for divorce is also specified in the original petition. This is most commonly sited as “irreconcilable differences” or “incompatibility”.

There are terms used to label the person who filed for divorce and also the other spouse. The person who filed for divorce is referred to as the “petitioner”, and the other spouse is known as the “respondent”. In certain states the “respondent” is known as the “defendant.”

At this point in the process the petition is served on the respondent (defendant) by a local sheriff. The respondent then has around 30 days to hire a divorce lawyer and formulate a response.

Separation Agreements

A separation agreement is known as a marital separation agreement, property settlement agreement, or just MSA for short. Its primary function is to define the terms of legal separation for both parties. The main guidelines include child support, child custody, child visitation, alimony, and division of assets and debts.

Basically, it outlines all of the guidelines that the couple would define during the actual divorce process. It is often a good idea to get this all out of the way when emotions are not nearly as high as when the final decision to get divorced is made. However, in some cases the marital separation agreement can be written after the couple has filed for divorce.

If the two parties do decide to proceed with a divorce, in many cases the separation agreement can be used as the final divorce settlement agreement.

Bill Murray’s Wife Files For Divorce

Bill Murray, star of many of the hit movies such as Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, apparently has quite a lifestyle at home. Jennifer Butler Murray, whom Bill has been married to for ten years, filed for divorce on May 12 in Charleston, South Carolina, where the two have a home.

No irreconcilable differences on this one… She is alleging that he is a sex and drug addict, he abandoned her, cheated on her, and even physically abused her. This is not the Bill we all knew from all those Saturday Night Live episodes.

The Charleston Post & Courier has most of the details of the case, and reported that Jennifer is requesting a restraining order to keep Murray out of her home. Also it appears that the two had signed a pre-nup before they were married. Well, she is double checking with the South Carolina courts that this is indeed valid, as she will be awarded a tidy sum of $7 million if they do get divorced.

Butler is making her case stating that their four children had to move out of the house back in 2006 because of Bill’s lifestyle. She said the reason was Murray’s “adultery, addiction to marijuana and alcohol, abusive behavior, physical abuse, sexual addictions and frequent abandonment.” She also noted that Bill “hit his wife in the face and then told her she was ‘lucky he didn’t kill her’”.

Looking forward to hearing from Bill Murray’s divorce attorneys for some explanations as these are very serious allegations.

Temporary Orders

A temporary order is a legally binding short term divorce decree that sets forth some guidelines for both parties in a divorce. The temporary order is binding until the divorce court makes its final divorce decree. Here are some of the guidelines that may exist in the order:

- Specify who gets to live in the house (marital residence)
- Who is able to write checks from certain bank accounts (joint, etc…)
- Who is responsible for looking after the children
- Specify if one party is allowed to contact the other spouse
- Allow/disallow a spouse to transfer or spend money
- Allow/disallow one party to leave with the children

If these rules are not followed by either party, then they are considered in contempt of court, and may be ordered to appear in court. If they are ordered to appear in court but fail to show up, then the next step is to issue a bench warrant. A bench warrant results in the spouse being taken into custody. At that point jail time is a possibility, or in lesser cases they will have assets taken away.

Temporary orders are most commonly used when both parties are not able to come to an agreement on who has custody of the children during the divorce process.

Participation Agreements

A participation agreement is one of the documents that is used in a collaborative divorce. To refresh from a previous post on what a collaborative divorce is, it is basically a divorce process in which both parties agree not to go to divorce court.

The role of the participation agreement in a collaborative divorce is to set rules and guidelines for how the divorce process is going to work. Although this agreement sets forth the process that does not involve the courts, it is very common to still hire divorce attorneys to aid in the proceedings.

In order to fulfil the purpose of the participation agreement, both the divorce lawyers and also the two parties must agree that:

- There is no litigation by either attorney in the case. If the participation agreement is not followed, and the collaborative divorce fails, then new lawyers must be obtained.

- If one party makes an honest mistake during the procedure, then the other must not take advantage of this.

- All relevant information will be disclosed at will.

- The meetings are completely confidential.

- Any subject matter expert that is involved in the divorce case must be neutral and agreed upon by all parties involved.

- All parties must act in good faith.

Family Law Basics

Family law can be seen as wide area of law that encompasses many different aspects. Anything that is considered a family-related issue and domestic relations falls within the family law umbrella.

Here are just a few areas of family law:

- agreements that deal with the nature of marriage (such as Prenuptial Agreements), domestic partnerships, and civil unions

- any issue that comes about in a marriage. these issues may include adoption, abuse, abduction, legitimacy, and surrogacy

- issues that are related to ending the relationship and ancillary matters. some of the different manners in which the relationship may be terminated include getting a divorce or obtaining an annulment. some of the ancillary matters include child custody, child support, child visitation, and alimony.