Discovery - probably every litigant's least favorite part of a lawsuit. It’s expensive, invasive, and a real pain…but can also be helpful, informative, and essential.
“Discovery” refers to the phase in your case during which each party works to discover information about the other side’s case and to develop their own. Lawyers (and savvy pro se litigants) in Texas use tools called Requests for Disclosure (“RFD”), Requests for Admission (“RFA”), Interrogatories (“ROGS”), and Requests for Production (“RFP”), in addition to depositions, to unearth information that will or could impact your case (there are some other tools and strategies, but these are the basics).
These requests seek a wide variety of information, depending on what’s at play in your particular circumstances—everything from the germane to the insane. In the divorce/custody context, emphasis is on the latter (kidding, kind of). Think about it - your divorce/custody suit involves everything you hold dear in your life: your kids, your money, your job, your health, your past, your future, your present….And, because it’s “in issue” in your case, your ex-factor’s lawyer has as right to look into it (within the limits of the Rules).
In this video, Attorney Hannah Hembree Bell provides some insight into the discovery process as a whole as we kick off a series that breaks down each piece of the puzzle, one video at a time.
