divorce discovery and investigation

Under DRL 236 B (4), mandatory financial disclosure is required for all income and assets without regard to whether these are marital or separate. Disclosure is both mandatory (net worth statements) and permissive (notices of discovery and inspection, interrogatories, subpoenas, and depositions).  Each case should be carefully strategized to ensure complete discovery from the spouses and third parties alike.

The scope and sequence of each case should be carefully planned from the proverbial day one to ensure our access to complete discovery from the other spouse and from all third parties with relevant information.  Only on a “full record” can a fair resolution of all financial and non-financial issues be achieved in divorce, be it through trial or settlement. 

Whenever there is a well founded suspicion that assets subject to equitable distribution are not being disclosed in discovery and may have been secreted by one of the spouses through illicit transfers, off-shore deposits, safety deposit boxes, placed in hidden trusts or the like, it may be well advisable to employ other information gathering tools and professionals, including the retention of private investigators, or computer, video or audio digital information recovery experts.  We have worked with experinced professionals in the past, with very good results for our clients.  It is only the facts of your individual case which will dictate the depth of the investigation warranted in order to maximize your rights in divorce.