Legal Question in Family Law in Rhode Island

No motion is needed to send out discovery. You may obtain discovery from your opponent by Interrogatories (Rule 33), Request for the Production of Documents and Other Things (Rule 34) or Requests for Admissions (Rule 36). These are all found within the Rhode Island Rules of Domestic Relations Procedure. Each family court has a law library. You may find them there. Depositions are also a discovery tool in divorces but a motion must be filed and approved by the court so that you may take a deposition. Lastly Rule 45 which provides for the issuance of subpoenas is sometimes referred to as a discovery tool since it is a means of obtaining information from your opponent. However, a deposition is the only tool that requires a formal motion or permission of the court, provided you wait the time provided in each rule after the complaint for divorce has been served before you want to use each particular tool.

There is no particular form for any of these discovery tools. Attorneys may have their own forms and sometimes you can find forms books in the family court law libraries, but technically speaking your documents only need to comply with the Rules of the Court. Any person conducting discovery should also review Rule 26 as a fundamental essential.

My very best to you. If you need formal coaching, do not hesitate to contact me for affordable coaching sessions which are now a standard part of my practice.