Discovery in Texas Family Law Cases

Discovery is the legal process when the parties in a lawsuit ask the other side for information that is related to the case.

You can read more about discovery in general in the article Discovery in Texas.

Discovery is essential in family law cases to ensure both parties and the court understand the issues at hand.

For example:

• In a divorce, the judge must make a "just and right" division of community property and debt. Discovery helps the spouses identify all property and debts involved.
• If one spouse earns significantly more than the other, discovery may provide the necessary financial details for the court to determine whether spousal support is appropriate.
• In custody cases—especially when parents disagree about custody or child support—the judge must make decisions in the best interest of the child. Discovery can reveal critical information about the child’s health care needs, education, and other relevant factors.

There are several types of formal discovery tools in Texas, including:

• Requests for Disclosure

• Requests for Admissions

• Requests for Production

• Requests for Inspection or Entry

• Interrogatories

• Depositions

• Mental or physical examinations.

There are also more informal ways to get information you need:

• Inventory and Appraisement

• Public records (such as county appraisal districts and clerks' offices)

• Social media

• Subpoenas on nonparties such as banks and health care providers.

Requests for disclosure are written requests asking a party to provide specific information about the case, including:

• Names, addresses, and phone numbers of all parties or potential parties to the lawsuit,
• Legal theories and supporting facts for the party’s claims,
• Names, addresses, and phone numbers of individuals with knowledge of relevant facts, along with a brief explanation of each person’s connection to the case,
• Information about testifying experts, and
• Other relevant facts or information specified in Texas Family Code 301.052.

Requests for disclosure in family law cases are governed by Texas Family Code 301.051 through 301.056.

You must give the other side your answers no later than 30 days after you are served with the request for disclosure. If an answer requires documents, you must also provide copies of any requested documents and other tangible items.

Rare exceptions may apply. Read Responding to Discovery Requests and Texas Family Code 301.503 and 301.504 to learn more.

Required initial disclosures are a type of discovery in which parties to new lawsuits have to exchange certain types of information within 30 days of the filing of an answer, waiver of service, or counterpetition.

No. In family law cases filed after September 1, 2023, parties do not have to exchange mandatory initial disclosures. The information exchanged in these initial disclosures can now be obtained through the regular discovery process.

You can get more or less the same information by filing a request for disclosure (discussed above) during the discovery period.

The Texas Family Code discovery rules that went into effect on September 1, 2023, cover Requests for Disclosure and expert witnesses. The rules about expert witnesses cover designation (naming or choosing expert witnesses), depositions, court-ordered reports, and cost.

Currently, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure still govern any requests for admissions, production, inspection, entry, interrogatories, non-expert witness depositions, and mental or physical examinations.

The family law discovery rules can be found in Texas Family Code Title 6, chapter 301 and Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Section 9(B).

TexasLawHelp does not offer discovery forms for family law cases. Law libraries often have templates for forms, but the templates are designed for lawyers, so you would need a lawyer's help drafting and responding to discovery.

Failing to cooperate with discovery or seeking more than allowed can lead to court sanctions. You might be barred from further discovery or prevented from using certain evidence at trial (see Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 193.6(a)).

For details on "abuse," see Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 215.