How to Respond to Marital Interrogatories, Custody Interrogatories, or Parental Allocation Interrogatories

Interrogatories are sent during the discovery phase of your Divorce or Parentage Case. They are written questions from the other spouse or parent.

If you have received Marital or Custody Interrogatories, you have twenty-eight days to either object or respond and prepare your written answers.  The written answers are not filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, but a document must be prepared and filed with the Clerk to inform the court that the deadline was met.  The written answers will be reviewed by our firm and upon obtaining your signature to confirm you are in agreement with the written answers as prepared, the written answers will be either emailed or mailed to the self-represented spouse or parent or their attorney.  If you fail to respond within the 28-day limit, and no agreement has been reached to extend the deadline, you can be sanctioned by the court.  We will discuss with you the possible sanctions should you miss the deadline.

Need Help with Your Marital or Custody Interrogatories?

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How to Organize Your Responses to the Marital Interrogatories, Custody Interrogatories, or Parental Allocation Interrogatories

Below we explain the initial steps and instructions for how you should organize and tender your response to make it easy for the firm's review and to be in compliance with Illinois Divorce and Parentage Laws. 

Upon receiving discovery requests and interrogatories, we will share with you a client folder from our collaborative client portal to upload your written response to the Marital Interrogatories, Custody Interrogatories, or Parental Allocation Interrogatories. As always, you should keep a file of anything you provide to our firm for your records.

You must respond to all questions in the Marital Interrogatories, Custody Interrogatories, or Parental Allocation Interrogatories. We will help you with all objections and appropriate responses, however, below is a good starting point for organizing your information for our firm. Contact us to learn more about applicable objections or how to narrow the scope of a discovery request.

When preparing your response for our firm to review, please retype each question (interrogatory) asked of you and follow each interrogatory with your response in the same order the question is asked. This will save you both time and legal fees during the discovery phase of your divorce or parentage case.

For instance, if the Marital Interrogatory states:

1. During the immediately preceding three years, has any person or entity held cash or property on your behalf? If so, state:

(a) The name and address of the person or entity holding the cash or property; and

(b) The type of cash or property held and the value thereof.

Your response should look like:

1. During the immediately preceding three years, has any person or entity held cash or property on your behalf? If so, state:

(a) The name and address of the person or entity holding the cash or property; and

(b) The type of cash or property held and the value thereof.

1. ANSWER:

                (a) Sally Smith, 555 Naperville Rd, Elmhurst, Illinois 55555-5555

                (b) Cash in the amount of $10,000.

Questions About Whether You Need to Respond to Marital Interrogatories, Custody Interrogatories, or Parental Allocation Interrogatories

If you are unable to respond to an interrogatory, highlight that interrogatory and consult with our family law attorney and/or paralegal. Our firm will also review the received Marital or Custody Interrogatories to determine if there is a need to object. We will work with you to develop your objection and limited response.  Contact us early, within 7 days of receiving the Interrogatories, so that we can adequately review and advise you within the 28-day period to respond.

Please calendar the due date and plan to deliver your responses to our firm within two weeks before the deadline. Do not provide us your response less than 1 week for the 28-day deadline or you place yourself at risk of missing the deadline and being sanctioned by the court.  

Tips for Responding to Marital Interrogatories, Custody Interrogatories, or Parental Allocation Interrogatories

• Your answers should be short and concise. Only answer the actual question being asked of you.
• Type your responses, please do not handwrite your responses.
• Be truthful. This is not a time to hide the truth or not answer accurately.  Any false or misleading information could cause you to lose major issues in your parentage or divorce case.  It could also cause you to be punished by the court and/or responsible for the other party's attorneys fees.
• You must sign and verify that the information provided is true in the presence of a notary. Our firm can notarize our client's signatures.

Contact us today to ease your discovery burdens and to receive access to important legal services.  Doing your best during the discovery process often means you will be successful in your overall family law case. 

If you are a client of our firm and have questions about the above, please contact our team at your earliest convenience so we can help set you on the right path. If you are not yet a client and you are researching How to Respond to Marital Interrogatories, perhaps you need legal representation or a second opinion for your divorce or custody case. Contact us for a consultation and planning session where we can review your Marital Interrogatories and provide you with helpful information. Our 20 years of experience can guide you back to a place of peace and resolution.

Check out our comprehensive family law services here. You will also find the following topics of interest if you have been served with written discovery: 

Divorce Lessons

Custody

Parenting Plans

Parenting Schedules