I Want A Divorce, But I Don’t Know Anything About Our Accounts Or Debts. What Do I Do?

It’s very common in a marriage for one person to handle certain responsibilities while the other person handles others.  For example, your husband may handle all of the finances and bills, while you handle managing the home and the kids.  Or maybe you handle all of the bills and expenses while your husband manages the investments.  If you want to get a divorce, but you’re afraid of missing out on assets simply because don’t have much information about your marital estate, don’t worry.  We can get that information for you.

During the divorce process (or any other legal proceeding), there is a period where both parties are allowed to conduct discovery.  The process of “discovery” is exactly what the name implies – it’s the process of finding or learning something that was previously unknown.  As your attorney, we have several different discovery methods to help learn more about your marital assets and liabilities, such as interrogatories, subpoenas, and depositions.  The level of discovery needed will vary with each case.  We pride ourselves on communication and will always discuss with you what discovery steps we recommend before we take any action.

Both parties often participate in the discovery process.  So, not only will we ask your husband for information, but it’s very likely that his attorney will also ask you for information.  It can be stressful and a little overwhelming to be asked to provide information that you simply don’t have.  In certain circumstances, it may be okay to respond with “I don’t know” or “My husband has that information”.  Our attorneys will work with you to complete whatever discovery requests come your way.

Just because you don’t have all the details about assets or debts, that doesn’t mean you can’t proceed with a divorce.  It also doesn’t mean that you’ll be at your husband’s mercy and have to rely only on the information he provides.  The purpose of gathering and exchanging information is to ensure that there is full disclosure of all assets and debts before settlement negotiations take place.

Simply call our office to schedule a consultation so that we can sit down with you and figure out a plan to get the information you need to proceed with your case.