Erin,
You are great and I appreciate your answers. Everyone here should thank you!
My stbx thinks I cheated on him when we were together, which is not the case. Although I e-mailed and talked to the person I’m dating now 1-2 weeks prior to my separation (i.e. formally leaving the marital house and getting my own apartment), I did not physically see this person until after I was separated. This marriage was over for years, we just stayed in the same house, different rooms, etc. My ex has filed with the courts to obtain all of our phone records, e-mails and the like, so he doesn’t have to pay PSS/Alimony. I heard that if the court grants him rights to obtain the information, they will then have to file for a search warrant. Do they actually raid your home to take your computers, etc? This would be a little scary with my kids here. What can you tell me about this? Also, what are the odds of the courts granting him rights to our personal information?
Thank you!
If your ex has filed for this information to be provided to the court then unless I’m mistaken, it will be up to you to gather the information and take this with you to court. They would not “raid” your home or serve you with a search warrant. The information he is requesting would be relevent to the “affair” for negating your alimony claim. The information would be subpoenaed by the courts specific to the time frame he is requesting. Records can be subpoenaed back for 6 months, a year or 3 years prior to separation…usually only the last 6 months to 1 year are relevant to the courts…
Also, if granted, are they able to obtain emails, texts, etc for the dates after our separation or just before? Thanks.
Pursuant to “discovery”, a request will be made for you to provide specific information relevant to any of your claims. That will include phone records, txt records, emails and bank and credit card statements. If you are unable to provide them, you will either subpoena them or make an objection to the discovery request due to various reasons.
And yes, information after the date of separation can be requested as it is relevant to a claim for alimony as well as for a claim for marital misconduct which would lead to a bar to alimony.