What is “Statutory Discovery”? Do I have to comply?
All divorce and child custody or separation processes begin with a Petition. Often included in the Petition is a Notice of Statutory Discovery. Oregon law requires that this notice be provided to you pursuant to ORS 107.089. This law requires you to provide financial records to Petitioner within thirty (30) days (or three [3] days prior to any scheduled support hearing if a hearing has been scheduled in less than 30 days). Failure to do so may result in the imposition of serious sanctions and penalties against you. You must provide the following documentation to the other side’s attorney within the time limits provided.
What documents am I required to provide?
(a) Tax documents. All federal and state income tax returns filed by either party for the last three calendar years.
(b) W-2s. If income tax returns for the last calendar year have not been filed, all W-2 statements, year-end payroll statements, interest and dividend statements and all other records of income earned or received by either party during the last calendar year.
(c) Year-to-date income. All records showing any income earned or received by either party for the current calendar year.
(d) Financial statements. All financial statements, statements of net worth and credit card and loan applications prepared by or for either party during the last two calendar years.
(e) Real property. All documents such as deeds, real estate contracts, appraisals and most recent statements of assessed value relating to real property in which either party has any interest.
(f) Debts. All documents showing debts of either party, including the most recent statement of any loan, credit line or charge card balance due.
(g) Vehicles. Certificates of title or registrations of all automobiles, motor vehicles, boats or other personal property registered in either party’s name or in which either party has any interest.
(h) Stocks and bonds. Documents showing stocks, bonds, secured notes, mutual funds and other investments in which either party has any interest.
(i) Retirement plans. The most recent statement describing any retirement plan, IRA pension plan, profit-sharing plan, stock option plan or deferred compensation plan in which either party has any interest.
(j) Banking accounts. All financial institution or brokerage account records on any account in which either party has had any interest or signing privileges in the past year, whether or not the account is currently open or closed.
(k) Uniform Support Declaration and Attachment.
What is a Request for Production (RFP)? Often an attorney will prepare what is called a “Request for Production of Documents” or RFP. An RFP generally includes the statutory discovery requests but likely includes other requests. You are required to respond truthfully to all requests. If a request doesn’t apply to you, or if a request would require you to create a document (i.e. a journal entry if you don’t keep a regular journal), then you will respond accordingly. Some people might say, well I don’t have three years of bank records on hand. Maybe so, but these days nearly everybody can access bank records on their cell phone. If you can access it, do. If it doesn’t exist, that’s a different story.
The point of statutory discovery and the RFP is for your attorney, and thus the court, to get a better understanding of your financial standing. How much do you hold in assets and how much in debts. It is best for you to be totally transparent so an equitable division can be made.
If you own a business, you will likely have an additional request for documents related to the business.
If you need help responding to a request for statutory discovery or need help requesting discovery from the other side, get in touch with our office today to get scheduled for a consultation.
