Every case is unique and presents its own specific challenges. In every case, your family law attorney is looking for those little golden nuggets of information that will make all the difference in your case. The trouble is that, unless you know where to look, we may be just guessing.
Oftentimes, of course, our guesses are good. Most of these guys aren’t career criminals. They’re just regular dudes making bad decisions – to your detriment. Right? But, still, we want the information that we need to prove our case, and discovery is often one of the best ways to get it if your case is looking like it’s going to be litigated.
Look, litigation is not the be-all, end-all. We don’t want to be in court for no reason, because it’s time consuming, expensive, and, if you have children in common, not exactly designed to facilitate a positive coparenting relationship after the dust has settled and your final divorce decree has been entered. But if he’s not willing to be reasonable or is obviously gaslighting you and denying you access to what you need – nay, what you deserve, because the law means you have ‘entitlements’ under it – well, you may have no other choice.
It’s always best to reach these decisions in consultation with a licensed, experienced family law attorney and I definitely encourage you to begin having those conversations – whether or not you plan to actually hire an attorney to represent you – early and continue having them often as the case progresses.
Spoiler alert: His Venmo history may paint an important picture.
I don’t just mean Venmo, of course. We can request PayPal, CashApp, and whatever other money app he might be using.
What might we find?
Well, the money people send to other people tells a story. Sometimes, it’s just reimbursement for Taco Tuesday or money sent to a babysitter. But in other cases, it can present a darker picture.
We’ve found evidence of extramarital affairs or weird “sugar baby” style relationships on apps like these and, sometimes, even more. Gambling, drugs, and other vices can be uncovered on these kinds of apps. I don’t even really want to speculate – we could uncover any number of things, really, because once you follow the money, you start to see a bigger picture.
Should you request his Venmo history?
That depends. Discovery is an expensive and time-consuming process, but it’s also one of the best, most effective ways to get answers to our as-yet-unanswered questions! Do you feel like he’s hiding something? Does he have separate bank accounts, so it’s possible that he could be making transactions you know nothing about? Are there details that you know about that, somehow, just don’t add up?
Asking for his history on these sites may be something to consider, but there are limits when it comes to discovery – so we do want to make sure that we’re not throwing in everything but the kitchen sink but, rather, ask targeted questions designed to yield helpful information.
For interrogatories, for example, we have a limit of 30 – including parts and subparts. You can do more in Requests for Production of Documents, but, still, if we ask for everything but the kitchen sink we’re likely to end up with a lot of red herrings (maybe even thrown in intentionally by opposing counsel) while they still conceal the more helpful information. Going back to court over and over again on various motions to compel, if they fail to respond or respond inadequately, can be time-consuming and expensive, too, so we want to strategically pick our battles.
Still, this is lesser known and – in some cases – a great source of more information.
Want to learn more about hiring an attorney – or not – in family law cases, or what an attorney can do for you? Visit our website at hoflaw.com or give us a call at 757-425-5200.