Discovery in life insurance beneficiary interpleaders

A life insurance company files an interpleader because it us unable, or unwilling, to determine the proper beneficiary and pay out the proceeds. The insurance company asks the court to decide who gets the money.

But a court very rarely decides the case immediately. Instead, the competing claimants hire lawyers and appear in court by filing answers to the interpleader lawsuit. Then the parties engage in what us called the discovery process.

Discovery is a fact-finding process that takes place after the interpleader has been filed and before the start of trial. Discovery generally requires the parties to disclose material facts and documents and allows the parties in the case to prepare for settlement or trial.

The timing and methods for conducting discovery will vary from court to court. . Although there is a broad scope of what may be requested in discovery, there are often deadlines for requesting discovery and responding to discovery requests

In a life insurance dispute, discovery typically consists of written interrogatories (written questions), demand for production of documents and depositions (testimony under oath). Interrogatories are helpful for asking ended questions. For example, one may ask the other party to identify all evidence upon which they intend to rely in support of their claims or defenses. Requests for production seek documents, recordings, data relevant to the case issues. Depositions are like trial testimony, but to gather testimony prior to trial. The witness is required to testify under oath before a court reporter who records the entire proceeding. These proceedings are usually done in an attorney's office with representatives of both or all of the parties in attendance.

The primary purpose of discovery is for the lawyers to obtain evidence for use at trial. But the evidence can also be used to move for, and defend against, summary judgment.