Financial Declaration and Initial Disclosures

At the beginning of every divorce, both parties are required to fill out a financial declaration disclosing all of their income, expenses, assets, debts, etc. Full financial declarations are provided to each side. The financial declaration is extremely important as the judge in your case will take into account the information provided in this form in determining financial matters such as alimony, child support, and division of assets. As your attorney, we ensure your financial declaration is properly executed and ensure the other side has fully disclosed all relevant financial information.

Similar to your financial declaration, you must also provide, and the other side must do the same, initial disclosures detailing relevant evidence you intend to introduce at trial. This includes any witnesses, documents, etc. that you intend to bring as evidence in support of your claims. This covers anything known at the time you make the disclosures. There are court imposed deadlines for when your initial disclosures are due so it is important to speak with your St. George Divorce Lawyer early about this process.

Written Discovery Requests

To learn more about the other party’s claims, your attorney can send written discovery requests to them requiring they provide certain documents, answer questions, and admit or deny certain allegations. These are generally called requests for admissions, requests for production of documents, and interrogatories. Additionally, your lawyer can send subpoenas to any relevant party seeking any relevant piece of evidence. For instance, if you believe your spouse is hiding assets, subpoenas can be sent to accountants, banks, etc. to help find out more information about assets and related issues.

Written discovery requests are one of the most effective tools in your lawyers bag of tricks. Often these requests are battled between the attorneys because the potential impact a certain disclosures may cause. It is not uncommon for one side to object to a certain request and for the judge to have to intervene.

Depositions

Finally, a very useful tool in the discovery process is the deposition. We can call the other party to appear out our office to answer questions on the record. We can cross examine them just like we would at trial. This allows us to discover what their anticipated testimony would be at trial. The deposition is recorded and the testimony given can be introduced as evidence at trial.

Help From Utah Divorce Lawyers

We know how to use the discovery process to your advantage, to give you the best possibility of resolving your divorce in your favor. Retaining one of our Utah Divorce Lawyers can make a big impact on your ability to discover all the necessary information about your soon to be ex’s case. Call us today for an analysis of your matter.

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Mediation vs. Litigation

There are many benefits to choosing mediation over traditional litigation. First, mediation allows you and your soon to be ex to arrive at a negotiated settlement that is specific to you both and works for your particular circumstances. A judge’s decision in family law matters sometimes does not work for either party. Mediation also helps to prevent “mud slinging” which may be important if you have children and will have to co parent with your spouse. Two of the biggest reasons why people choose mediation over going right into court are the time and money factors. While a good mediator will cost money, the cost is nothing compared to what you can spend on lawyer fees by battling it out in court. While you may spend a few hundred ollars in mediation, a divorce case that goes to trial may be 20 times or more in the amount you spend in attorney’s fees. The next big benefit is the amount of time you will save. If the two of you are able to agree on a final settlement in mediation, the divorce can be made final fairly quickly. On the other hand, if you both fight it out in court, it will likely be at least a year before your case may be resolved. Save yourself the time and money involved with fighting in court, call and speak to one of our attorney mediators today.

More Information 435-625-1753

Speak with a St. George Divorce mediator today. We can help assist in the resolution of your claims. If you find mediation is not right for you, we have Utah divorce lawyers who can take your case this distance in litigation. No matter what you decide, we can provide a free consultation and give you all the information you need to make an informed decision about your family rights. Call 435.645.1753 now to speak with a lawyer.

The post Divorce Mediation in Southern Utah | Family Law Attorneys appeared first on St George Divorce Attorney | Southern Utah Family Lawyer | Mediation.