Rhode Island Divorce Tips

Whether you've been through a Rhode Island Divorce proceeding yet or not, you may have heard this word in other legal contexts.  The word is "Interrogatories".

In a Rhode Island Divorce proceeding you or your attorney may receive Interrogatories that have been prepared by the opposing party.  Interrogatories are questions that must be answered and signed under oath by the party in the divorce (not his or her attorney) before a notary public. 

In a Rhode Island Divorce proceeding you have forty (40) days from the date of service of the Interrogatories to answer or otherwise object to the questions being asked of you.  If you don't answer or object to the interrogatories within the forty (40) day period then generally you will be deemed to have waived any objections you may have to the questions.

The likely result thereafter is that the opposing party or his or her divorce attorney will file a Motion to Compel Answers to Interrogatories and absent a compelling reason you will be ordered to answer the questions.

So what is the tip? 

1)  Don't miss the forty (40) day deadline if you have any objections.  Keep in mind that this is NOT forty (40) business days.  Weekends and holidays are included in the days a party is afforded in  order to respond. 

2)  Make sure you or your attorney put in valid objections within the forty (40) days, especially if some questions are designed purely to harass you.

3.  Use VALID Objections.  For instance, you can't object simply because you don't want to answer the question.  You can't object just because the answer will hurt you.  You can't object simply because it is going to take you considerable time to answer the question. 

Typically objections will be left to your attorney in order to protect you.  However, this is part of your case.  You should know what your attorney is objecting to, why, and what the attorney stated for an objection.

If you have to object on your own. . . "study up" learn the valid objections and then use them appropriately.

Interrogatories are part of the phase of divorce litigation called "Discovery" and interrogatories are only one of several discovery tools.

Discovery is the portion of the litigation where questions are asked and documents are produced so that facts and information may be disclosed so each party can take his or her various positions and prepare for trial if necessary.  It has its pros and its cons as does each method or discovery tool.

For our purposes today this is only about interrogatories.  Make sure you meet your deadline and make sure you pose your valid objections in time or you could find yourself behind the eightball.

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
571 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI  02910
Phone:  (401) 354-2369

NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.

Not every attorney is right for every person.  And sometimes, there is no attorney that can satisfy a client.  Simply hiring a divorce and/or family law attorney experienced in Rhode Island Divorce and Family Law does not mean that you have chosen the right attorney for you.

When choosing YOUR divorce or family law attorney you should to consider your own needs and expectations.  You also should consider whether or not your needs and expectations are achievable. 

Here's a quick example of obstacles that can make the client's expectations unrealistic.

A client engages me to represent her in her divorce.  She wants the divorce filed and served quickly.  She also wants it settled quickly and economically. I don't give her any guarantees because a settlement is dependent upon too many factors, yet I assure  her that I will do everything within my power to meet her expectations.

The client gets the questionaire back to me and a I draw up the papers right away.  The husband's lawyer calls and says he wants to accept service for this client but he'll be away for a week or so on vacation.  When the attorney returns the husband's attorney is served.  In about a week the husband's attorney answers the divorce complaint and serves the wife with extensive Interrogatories (questions to be answered under oath) and Requests for the Production of Documents which are likewise extensive.

The client wants the matter settled quickly and doesn't want to answer the Interrogatories  so I call the husband's attorney.  He doesn't want to discuss settlement at this early stage without more information. He wants the answers to the Interrogatories and Request for Production of Documents responded to first.
The husband's attorney also files a motion to be heard in a few weeks.

My client is unhappy because this will delay the divorce and cost her more money.  The client instructs me to be more aggressive.  I object to the Interrogatories and call the opposing attorney to see what his client wants to settle the matter.  The opposing attorney will not negotiate.....PERIOD.

My client is upset.

A week or so later I get a letter that my client has retained new counsel.

Conclusions?   

I was not the right attorney for this client and realize that perhaps no attorney will fit the bill.

The client had unrealistic expectations under the circumstances.

No attorney can control another party or another party's attorney.  It simply isn't reasonable to expect your attorney to settle a case immediately when the other side will not budget.  Likewise it isn't within the attorney's control to keep the case economical when third parties that are outside the attorney's control take actions and make filings which by necessity increase the cost.

A person entering the divorce arena should be prepared for best and worst case scenarios and be able to adapt to the changing environment of their court case.  Persons who are unable or are unwilling to do this generally either hop from lawyer to lawyer or end up with a result that is much less than they expected and then resort to blaming the lawyer for not achieving unreasonable expectations.

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
571 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI  02910
Phone:  (401) 354-2369

NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.

It may not be frequent and it may not be a popular choice by most Rhode Island Family Court Judges but it is good for any spouse going into a divorce to know that Permanent Alimony may be awarded by a judge under Rhode Island Law.

Now admittedly it's not something spouses have to be terrified about, but it IS something you certainly should be informed about.

Permanent Alimony is, of course, a fairly drastic remedy to impose upon any person especially if it's ordered in such a way that it is a set figure (not income dependent) and is non-modifiable.

So in what cases should you be concerned about Permanent Alimony or as the statute says . . . . alimony may be awarded indefinitely.

Imagine being a man or woman subject to paying indefinite alimony to your spouse.  That is certainly a heavy burden that most people wouldn't want to bear.

Thankfully, instances of permanent alimony are fairly rare because under Rhode Island Law alimony is considered to be for rehabilitative purposes. In otherwords, alimony is supposed to be set so that the spouse who receives it has the opportunity to get back in the workplace, or increase his or her skills to a level that he or she can adequately support themselves.

Of course permanent alimony then is generally restricted by judges to those who for whatever reason cannot reasonably be rehabilitated, such as those with permanent learning disorders or quadra-plegics whose rehabilitative time may be so perpetual that it can't reasonably be determined by a judge, or those who many develop mental disorders during a marriage such that they cannot survive without their partner despite their partner's desire for a divorce.

Permanent alimony exists and it's good to be aware of it.  Thankfully, it's rare in Rhode Island.

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
571 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI  02910
Phone:  (401) 354-2369

NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.