A request for production is how you make your spouse turn over documents in a Georgia divorce.
What the Statute Allows
OCGA 9-11-34 lets a party require the other party to produce and permit inspection of documents and other tangible things within that party’s possession, custody, or control. In a divorce that usually means tax returns, pay records, bank and credit card statements, retirement and brokerage account records, loan applications, and deeds. The response is due within 30 days after the request is served, or within 45 days after service of the summons and complaint if the request came with the divorce papers.
Reaching People Who Are Not Parties
The same statute reaches non-parties. Under OCGA 9-11-34(c), documents can be sought from someone who is not a party to the divorce at all – a bank, an employer, an accountant, a business your spouse works for.
For example, in Stearns v. Williams-Murphy, 263 Ga. App. 239 (2003), a wife’s former divorce lawyer refused to release the client’s file, saying she was owed fees. The superior court ordered her to release it and held her in contempt when she did not. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the superior court had jurisdiction to order a non-party to release necessary, non-privileged documents prepared in anticipation of a divorce action pending before it.
What You Cannot Reach
The request has to seek something relevant and not privileged. A request that sweeps in material with no real connection to the marriage or the issues in the case invites an objection, and the judge decides.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!