SAMPLE DOCUMENTS
Here’s where you can review examples of our everyday work:
This Agreement governs the rights and responsibilities of the parties as to the joint parenting of the child(ren). Visitation details and holiday schedules are also included.
For most couples, splitting up possessions is a big part of the divorce process. If you and your spouse are going to try to divide your property yourselves, you should first make a list of all of the items that you own. When dealing with furniture or kitchen items for example, you may specify “furniture in bedroom,” “green set of dishes,” and so on.
If you are contemplating filing for divorce, or if you are already involved in the divorce process, it is critically important for your attorney to have a complete financial picture of both spouses. This is the general list of documents that you should have available or readily accessible when you begin your case.
You may request documents from the opposing party that relate to issues in your divorce case. The list of items our lawyers request is usually a long one. Reports of experts, documents describing a spouse’s retirement or pension plan, data compilations such as mortgage amortizations, present value calculations, and the like, medical records, cell phone records, credit card statements and insurance policies are likely candidates for our document requests.
At a deposition, the person being deposed (the “deponent”) is put under oath, just as they would be in a court, and a lawyer asks a wide range of questions relating to the case. The lawyer’s questions, and the deponent’s answers, are taken down by a court reporter. Our firm will typically depose a client’s spouse, a social worker, or even friends, co-workers, and neighbors of the parties.
Oftentimes, testimony at the deposition can be used later to cross-examine the deponent if the case ever goes to trail and testimony varies in even the slightest detail from the testimony at the deposition. We often ask the person on the stand, “Didn't you say X then and Y now? Was your memory better then or now? Were you lying then or are you lying now?" Moreover, if for any lawful reason a person who testifies at a deposition is not available at time of the trial, deposition testimony generally may be used as evidence.
In Massachusetts, the penalties related to a failure to respond to discovery or to appear at a deposition may be severe. The opposing party may file a Motion to Compel discovery and or seek sanctions related to that failure. Severe sanctions, if said motion is allowed, may include establishing facts related to a case. That means that the Court disallows an opposing party from presenting an evidence or testimony at trial to contest an issue where discovery was not provided.
Default is the most severe sanction where the Probate and Family Court allows a party to proceed as if the entire case or any individual issue is uncontested. The Court may also award attorney’s fees to the party that submitted the unanswered discovery.
We often advise clients that if they require additional time to respond to discovery, the better practice is to request the same in writing including a specific timeline when it will be completed.