Requests for Admission

Request for Admissions asks for the opposing party to make factual admissions on a set of statements. A party may serve Request for Admissions, “…after commencement of the action and upon any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint upon that party.” O.C.G.A. 9-11-36 (a)(1) The opposing party will have 30 or 45 days to furnish their answers upon the requesting party depending on when the Requests for Admissions is served. 

What does Request for Admissions look like?

The Request for Admissions will be geared towards actions you believe the opposing party has taken that benefit your divorce case. For example, the party believes the opposing party is spending frivolously. The party may ask, ‘Admit that you have spent 1 million Dollars on a Beach House in the Bahamas on March 5, 2020.’ In a Child Custody case, an admission may look like, ‘Admit you have dropped the kids off late to school 20 times in the past year.’  When responding to the Admissions it is not just a one-word response of admit or deny. According to the Georgia Civil Code, “If objection is made, the reasons therefor shall be stated. The answer shall specifically deny the matter or set forth in detail the reasons why the answering party cannot truthfully admit or deny the matter. A denial shall fairly meet the substance of the requested admission; and, when good faith requires that a party qualify his answer or deny only a part of the matter of which an admission is requested, he shall specify so much of it as is true and qualify or deny the remainder.” O.C.G.A 9-1-36

How is Request for Admissions different from other Discovery tools?

Interrogatories and Requests for Production are broad questions and while some questions are geared towards your case most of the questions or requests in them are used in every case. Requests for Admissions as you can see from the examples above are all specific to your case. Unlike Depositions that take place in person, Request for Admissions will be in a written format and are less costly. An important difference with Requests for Admissions is you must respond within the 30 or 45 days or the admissions will be considered admitted.

How are they helpful?

If you are certain or suspicious of actions the opposing party has taken that would be helpful to your case, then it is beneficial to use Admissions to address those specific concerns. Request for Admissions is a useful tool to use to avoid the costlier route of a Deposition to address the concerns you and your attorney have. However, Request for Admissions is not always needed in every case so, it is important to have an attorney who has experience in Family law.  Contact our Marietta divorce lawyers online, or call us toll-free at 866-527-2630 to schedule a consultation to discuss your situation.