Question:
My divorce question is about the discovery process.
My soon-to-be-ex-wife and I are fighting over child custody. I recently got a new job and am trying to keep this nasty divorce battle out of my work life.
I received a list of questions in the discovery process that asked for my employment information, which I am fine with providing, but it also asks for my supervisor’s name and contact information, which I find to be completely unnecessary and solely for the use of possibly contacting my boss like she did at my previous job.
Do I have to provide this information? Is she entitled to know everything she wants to simply because we’re going through the discovery process?
Answer:
I am unable to give you legal advice on divorce. I can only give general divorce help for men, though, my knowledge is based on Missouri divorce laws where I am temporarily permitted to practice.
Where I practice, either side to a dissolution proceeding during discovery, through i.e., a medium of interrogatories, depositions or other method, may request information that it deems relevant to one’s case.
If served with interrogatories or deposed and asked to provide a supervisor’s name, you will likely have to provide it unless there is a way to establish that this is privileged information. Said information can be privileged if it is likely that the opposing party is looking to obtain details pertaining to one’s personnel file, which is considered privileged in my state.
However, if not related to one’s personnel file, this information is commonly inquired during divorce proceedings. In other words, the opposing party can try to obtain information from your supervisor through deposing him or her, and again, whether they are successful or not depends upon what information they are specifically looking to obtain.
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Keep in mind that if you do not provide the supervisor’s name, the opposing party can subpoena your work records, which may ultimately render the supervisor’s name and contact information.
Remember, I am unable to provide you with anything more than divorce tips for men. Consult with a local divorce lawyer for specific legal advice on divorce.
To arrange an initial consultation to discuss divorce rights for men with a Cordell & Cordell attorney, including Jennifer de Lyon Stralka, a St. Louis divorce lawyer, contact Cordell & Cordell Law Firm.
