How to Prepare for Trial in Family Court
Trials occur in family court when you and the other party are not able to come to an agreement on your family issues. In the trial, a judge will make a final decision on the presented family court issues. In order to be fully prepared for your family court trial, it is important to review the following trial preparation steps.
Trial Preparation
- Complete the discovery process
Discovery is the exchange of legal information and known facts of a family court case. Discovery tools utilized in family law cases include the following:
- Interrogatories: Interrogatories are written questions used to collect a wide variety of information about the other party.
- Request for admission: A request for admission is a written demand that the opposing party either admits or denies the truth of a specific statement, document, or recording.
- Request for production of documents: A request for the production of documents is a demand for a specific document from the opposing party.
- Subpoena duces teca: A subpoena duces teca is a request for specific documents, photos, or recordings from a third party.
- Deposition: A deposition is sworn out-of-court testimony from a witness used to gather information about the case.
- Disclose your witnesses
It is important to decide who you would like to speak to as a witness in your family law case. Witnesses must speak about information that is relevant to your case and that they have personal knowledge of. Witnesses should be chosen and informed of the trial well ahead of your trial date.
- Disclose your exhibits
Exhibits are documents that are introduced as evidence during a trial. It is extremely important to gather strong supporting evidence throughout your case in preparation for your trial. The types of exhibits include, but are not limited to:
- Photographs
- Videotapes
- School records
- Charts
- Tax returns
- Financial statements
- Prepare a Pre-Trial Memorandum
A pre-trial memorandum is the main document a family court judge will utilize to prepare for your trial. The document summarizes all of your arguments on the case and discloses your witnesses for the trial. A family court attorney can assist in drafting a pre-trial memorandum.
- Complete a Financial Disclosure form
It is important to file an up-to-date financial disclosure form prior to the trial to ensure that your finances are accurately reported and can be used in court rulings.
The process of preparing for trial in family court can be overwhelming and complicated. Contact the qualified family law attorneys of Carlson & Work today at 775-386-2226 for assistance on how to initiate the pre-trial family law procedure.
