The Importance of Access

by | Nov 21, 2016 | Legal Process

In every legal case, and especially in a divorce, we need information in order to make a solid settlement proposal or know whether to accept an offer – if you want to avoid a trial. You get this, I get that, we divide things up in a way that makes sense.

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In order for it to make sense to both sides, however, each party must have access, access to all of the same information involving the parties’ assets. This means unobstructed access to business records, to financial documents, to any type of information that will help keep us in view of exactly what is going on, what assets exist and what needs to be parsed out.

In our legal system, there are ways to protect information if you are concerned that the documents and the information they contain will be misused by your spouse. One such way is by agreeing to the entry of a Protective Order.

The Protective Order will specifically state that documents, marked as confidential, and the information contained in the documents, shall not be disclosed to anyone not directly involved in the lawsuit.

There should not be any reason not to share relevant information.
This is a message to readers to be comfortable disclosing the information.
It’s not going to hurt you to reveal what you own. It’s only going to help you.

Because, the facts are the facts and once we have the facts, whether on one side or the other, we can work with the information to reach a resolution, fairly and swiftly.
I am advocating for parties in a divorce to freely exchange information, even if you don’t think it’s important.

In Michigan, we are governed by very broad rules for discovery so that all relevant information, and that information which may lead to relevant information, is discoverable by the other side.

If it’s requested, there’s usually a legitimate reason for it.

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