Articles Posted in Disclosure of Information

In family law, discovery is the process in which your attorney will request and obtain information from the opposing party. One tool for discovery in Texas is Rule 194 of the Texas Code of Civil Procedure, Request for Disclosure. These are used to ask for basic information about the case, names of the parties etc.

Starting in 2021, Rule 194 is going to change. There is no longer going to have to be a request for disclosure. The opposing must provide certain information, even without a request. Here is the new rule 194(a)

(a) Duty to Disclose. Except as exempted by Rule 194.2(d) or as otherwise agreed by the parties or ordered by the court, a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other parties the information or material described in Rule 194.2, 194.3, and 194.4.

Family Law Discovery Issues:

If there is one aspect of practicing law that a consensus of attorneys will agree is a mental beat-down, it would be the discovery process. Since discovery is a necessary evil, discovery is a tool that attorneys must effectively wield in order to adequately represent their client.

Very often, we have men and women who are attempting to battle through a divorce on their own, and once they are served with discovery requests they come looking for help. That is the smart move. An experienced family law attorney will know exactly what needs to be done and will get your case on track.

Many people come in and ask our office this question because they have legitimate concerns regarding the other party.  Most importantly, these cases often involve allegations of family violence or there is a pending protective order already in place.  If you are afraid of your ex in any way, you need to notify the proper authorities and your attorney.

Your right to privacy in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship is located within Texas Family Code Section 153.012 which states that the Court has discretionary authority to order your residence information to be deleted from a court order before the order is released to the other parent.  It does not give specific guidelines as to when the Court can order this and it is, as we stated, discretionary in that it states “the court may.”  Therefore, it is important to discuss all reasons why you feel this information should be withheld from the other party.

If you are seeking or have a protective order in place, then Texas Family Code Section 85.007 guides with respect to confidentiality of certain information.  If you have a protective order then you, anyone in your family or household can request that the Court exclude the address and telephone number from the order of: (a) a person protected by the order (it would only state the county where you reside); (b) the employment or business of a person protected by the order; or (c) child-care facility (daycare) or school of child protected by the order.  Once you have made this request, the Court will strike the information and it will be kept for court purposes only.

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