Disclosure is the process by which each party to the divorce “discloses” to each other and the court, documents and other evidence they intend to use during divorce court. Documents that should be disclosed include any that will help the party’s own case or harm the other party’s case. If you feel your spouse has documents or hard evidence such as photos, videos or emails you should file a motion with the court requesting “disclosure" of said documents and evidence.
Although it doesn’t always work out this way, it is a general duty to all parties in the divorce action to disclose any documents or evidence that will help achieve justice. If you file a motion requesting disclosure, you should expect the opposing counsel to do anything but actually disclose the documents or evidence. If this happens and they then show up in court with the requested documents or evidence the judge will consider it unreasonable conduct. It is within your legal rights to ask the judge to penalize the opposing party for failing to disclose the documents or evidence. Be sure to bring a copy of your motion for disclosure the court with you. There should be a copy in your case file but court clerks have been known to lose case documents. It’s in your best interest to bring copies of all paperwork filed by you to court with you.
