{"id":400,"date":"2017-12-08T11:11:35","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T11:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.wordpress.com\/?p=400"},"modified":"2018-09-27T08:41:33","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T08:41:33","slug":"familyfriday-what-is-discovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/familyfriday-what-is-discovery\/","title":{"rendered":"#FamilyFriday – What is Discovery?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Discovery is a process used to provide each party an opportunity to obtain evidence related to the opposing party’s case.\u00a0 In this week\u2019s #FamilyFriday article, the attorneys<\/a> of ERA Law Group, LLC want to describe the process, its purpose, and what you should expect.<\/p>\n

Discovery usually takes place shortly after the Plaintiff files their complaint.\u00a0 Maryland Rules allow for different forms of discovery.\u00a0 The two most common forms of discovery are Requests for Answers to Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents.<\/p>\n

A Request for Answers to Interrogatories is a series of questions that one party serves on another party to be answered.\u00a0 Maryland Rule allows for a maximum of 30 questions to be served. \u00a0There are standard questions involving your income, assets, personal information, etc. and then there are custom questions that will specifically relate to the issue at hand.\u00a0 For example, in a custody dispute there may be a specific question about why one parent refused visitation on certain dates.<\/p>\n

A Request for Production of Documents is a series of requests for specific documents that one party serves on another party.\u00a0 In responding to the request you simply state whether you have the document<\/a> or will produce the document.\u00a0 In accordance with those responses, you then provide the documents. \u00a0There is no limit to how many document requests you may ask.\u00a0 Many of these requests are also standard and ask for documents such as your bank statements, communications between the parties, etc.\u00a0 You may also ask for specific questions.\u00a0 For example, if you\u2019ve learned your spouse was cheating on you with another person, you may ask for copies of all communications with that specific person.<\/p>\n

Each party has a right to object to any interrogatory or document request, however, there must be a basis for the objection and that reason must be stated.\u00a0 For example, in any case involving children, a parties income is going to be relevant and necessary for the purpose of establishing child support.\u00a0 If in this example you ask for paystubs and the other party objects, you will need to take the necessary steps to compel that party to provide their paystub.\u00a0 Generally this first involves a letter demanding the production then a Motion to Compel if the production does not occur.<\/p>\n

We often hear clients complain and say that discovery is a \u201cwaste of time\u201d or that \u201cs\/he already knows this information\u201d or \u201cwhy do I have to answer this?\u201d\u00a0 The response to all of this information is simple; discovery is important.\u00a0 Discovery allows your attorney to see what sort of items the other party is focusing on and perhaps get a glimpse into their strategy.\u00a0 Interrogatories are also signed under oath and provide an opportunity to get a sworn statement of sorts from the opposing party.\u00a0 Additionally, once everything is on the table it sometimes becomes easier to have a more honest settlement discussion.<\/p>\n

If you have been served with discovery, don\u2019t wait.\u00a0 The rules only allow for 30 days to respond.\u00a0 Instead, call the attorney<\/a>s at ERA Law Group, LLC at (410) 919-1790 and ask how we can help you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discovery is a process used to provide each party an opportunity to obtain evidence related to the opposing party’s case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[424,423,426,413],"tags":[278,9,10,36,279,280,11,281,53,12,282,192,41,283,273],"class_list":{"0":"post-400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-child-support","8":"category-custody","9":"category-divorce-and-separation","10":"category-family-law","11":"tag-admissions","12":"tag-child-custody","13":"tag-child-support","14":"tag-children","15":"tag-deposition","16":"tag-discovery","17":"tag-divorce","18":"tag-documents","19":"tag-family","20":"tag-family-law","21":"tag-interrogatories","22":"tag-litigation","23":"tag-parents","24":"tag-rules","25":"tag-separated","26":"entry"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":879,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400\/revisions\/879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}