Understanding New Jersey Form A Interrogatories: A Complete Overview

Comprehending Form A Interrogatories in NJ

Form A Interrogatories are an essential legal document for several different kinds of litigants. In the context of divorce, for instance, Form A (along with what’s known as Form B) is used to request from one spouse’s adversary (the "defending party") information and documentation about a wide range of financial issues. In the context of a commercial contract dispute, Form A may be used to request from the other side information and documents about communications, representations, and warranties relating to the contract’s formation, performance, and breach. For an employer or employee, Form A may request information about a former employee’s contacts with third parties shortly after being hired , in order to assess whether a breach of contract or tort such as tortious interference occurred.
At its simplest, NJ Form A Interrogatories are written questions presented to the defending party (often referred to as the "Defendant") to which they must respond under oath. A party who responds to Form A Interrogatories must do so in timely fashion after they have been received; responding to these questions via subpoena (which should not have been received in the first place) would be improper. While these questions are often straightforward, other times they can be confusing and the assistance of an experienced lawyer is needed to meaningfully respond to them. If a party refuses to answer the questions presented in Form A Interrogatories, this can be challenged in court.

Major Elements of NJ Form A Interrogatories

The New Jersey Court Rules provide a standardized form for Interrogatories in divorce investigations. This is known as the "Form A". It contains questions that are grouped into categories and has specific sub-parts under those categories. The categories deal with Accountings, Support, Property, Employment, Retirement, Insurance, Counseling, Parenting Time, and Marital History to name some.
Not all questions are required to be answered in every case, but if the question is relevant to personal circumstances of the case, the questions would need to be answered. The Form A establishes the basic structure of the questions to be asked in every case. Accountings: First it will give you the categories for the accountings, the names of those who have created the accounts, and for accounts over a certain value, the account number and the balance on the date of filing of the action. It tells you whether that money was earned income and what were the dividends and interest earned for the past three years. It provides details as to any debt owed to Plaintiff or Defendant by Family or friends. It also asks for the names of parties involved with these debts and amounts owed. Support: The earnings information is much more detailed for support, than it is for equitable distribution. It goes into whether the cost of supplying any evidence to the IRS was shared by the parties. It asks how many dependents were included in the latest tax return and what the amount was. Then it goes into a detailed listing of the gross income, social security and pension plan of both parties. Then it calculates what the support guideline would be. Property – Assets: Then, it starts asking for the information about the assets. It asks for the property that was owned before marriage, during marriage, and any others that are not part of the marriage. That is followed by questions relating to professional degrees and whether assets were purchased with the party’s goodwill from their profession. Professional appraisal is also part of that. It then goes into the homes, the appraised value, any liens, mortgages and line of credit. It also goes into sophistication of property such as artwork, wine collection, antiques, and jewelry. Property – Vehicles: Then it goes to the vehicles, the appraised value, liens, mortgages, and lines of credit on motor vehicles. It then goes into household goods and appraised value of antiques, art work and jewelry based on age, condition, quality and dollar value paid., and the existence of any insurance coverage. Retirement and Investments: Again, it gets into individual plans, amount transferred on a monthly basis and present values of retirement plans. It also notes that further evidence is attached to the Interrogatories explaining the plans, copies of IRAs, annuities, and deferred compensation plans, tax deferred savings plans such as 401k, and qualified plans under IRA or Keough and any statement that indicates the current value of the plan. Insurance: Then it carefully details, names of companies, under whom the policy was written, and the amount of the insurance for terms and conditions and exclusions. Counseling: Going into a question about marital counseling is also important, including when and the places that counseling took place, and who the psychologist or psychiatrist were, along with any notes or records provided during the time the counseling was being held. Parenting Time: It goes into who is designated as the primary caretaker, and any arrangements for infant care. It also goes into daycare, nursery school, and babysitting arrangements. Marital History: It goes into the history of the marriage, cohabitation prior to marriage, alimony received, whether the parties have family members who feel same way about the marriage as they do or did, whether there were any other types of relationships extraneous to the marriage, the terms under which any extra-relationships ended, whether there was any cohabitation or sexual relations with anyone other than the spouse after the date of separation, and the financial aspects of any such relationships. The answers to these questions help the court determine issues relating to equitable distribution and what an appropriate level of support might be. Therefore, it is crucial that the responses to the questions be as complete and accurate as possible.

Guidelines for Responding to Form A Interrogatories

When responding to Form A interrogatories in a New Jersey divorce case, it is essential to do so accurately and promptly. While an exact timeline does not exist by which responses must be provided, you should respond within 30 days of receipt. If you are unable to provide complete and accurate answers within this time period, it is acceptable (and often standard practice) to send objection responses within the specified timeframe and seek additional time from the other party to prepare the responses in full. An attorney can also help to fully understand the questions posed. This may mean answering yes or no rather than providing a longer winded answer or vice versa. In certain cases, no response may even be provided if the questions posed are illegal or have been objected to by your attorney. Non-response by the other party is also permitted, assuming the questions are not deemed to be necessary to for good order.

Common Issues with Form A Interrogatories

Many litigants are surprised when they try to respond to this form and it becomes difficult to tailor the questions to their specific situation. One of the most common issues with this form is the portions of the interrogatories that ask about the parties. Questions 11-65 (depending on the form number) can be incredibly intrusive, broad, and even offensive.
The Interrogatories at Issue
For instance, many of the questions regarding sexual acts are simply not appropriate for any form of pleading. On its face, the party receiving the interrogatories is required to answer questions regarding the following sexual acts which they believe may have occurred during their marriage:

Have you ever engaged in consensual sex with a person other than your spouse?
Have you ever engaged in penetrative sexual conduct with a person other than your spouse?
Have you ever engaged in oral sex other than with your spouse?
Have you ever rubbed or stroked an area of another person’s body other than your spouse’s body for your sexual pleasure or for the sexual pleasure of that person?
Have you ever had genital contact with a person other than your spouse’s genitals?
Have you ever engaged in anal contact with a person other than your spouse.
Have you ever kissed a person other than your spouse with the intent of causing or intending to cause sexual arousal?
Have you ever participated in sexual activities with a person other than your spouse in the presence of a third person.
Have you ever participated in sexual activities with a person other than your spouse in the presence of a third person with the intent of causing or intending to cause sexual arousal.
Have you ever engaged in sexual activity with a person other than your spouse in which you used an artificial contraceptive to reduce the risk of pregnancy?
Have you ever engaged in sexual activity with a person other than your spouse in which you used an artificial contraceptive with the intent of reducing the risk of pregnancy?
Have you ever with a person other than your spouse if any of the following occurred:

(a) You or your partner were under age 18 at the time of the sexual activity.
(b) You were married at the time of the sexual activity.
(c) Your partner was married at the time of the sexual activity.
(d) You were infected with a sexually transmissible disease at the time of the sexual activity.
(e) Your partner was infected with a sexually transmissible disease at the time of the sexual activity.
(f) You or your partner had sex without the use of condoms.
(g) You or your partner had sex with more than three persons other than your spouse.

23. Have you ever had to have surgery or other treatment for warts or other sexually transmissible disease.

These questions seem wholly inappropriate , even if the act(s) occurred during the marriage. This same line of questioning is also present in other discovery devices such as a Request for Admissions. However, these questions will likely receive an objection in any forum as this type of discovery serves only to harass the receiving party. For many people the "mere embarrassment" of receiving this type of question is enough to justify withholding the answer.
How Should You Respond to These Questions?
An objecting party can respond to any or all of these questions on the grounds that they are overly broad, harassing and/or offensive, inconsistent with the rules of civil procedure, and/or not relevant to the lawsuit. In New Jersey, the Rules of Civil Procedure can be found at R. 4:10-2; R. 4:17-5. In particular, the New Jersey Rules of Evidence are very helpful in responding to discovery requests that are overly broad, harassing and/or offensive. The applicable rules are provided for you here: N.J.R.E. 404-955, R. 4:26-7, and R. 4:10-2. One major concern is that the questions are not limited to the date of the marriage. These types of questions can serve to harass the individual spouse which is why they are objected to in the first instance. There is no New Jersey case law dealing with this topic specifically. However, general comments are found in Wegman v. WYNDHAM VACATION RESORT, INC., 2019 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1988, which discuss the use of interrogatories in general but does not implicate Form A information in particular.
While there is no specific case law regarding these forms, it is worth taking the opportunity to express the opinion of an attorney who represents individuals in divorce matters.

Form A Interrogatories and Their Use in Civil Litigation

Form A Interrogatories are used in personal injury and most other civil litigation cases in New Jersey. In general, the Court Rules require defendants to answer some questions about the incident within 30 days of receipt of the Summons and Complaint. This requirement is somewhat ironic because the plaintiff may not even know all of the information about the incident and could not properly draft a lawsuit without the answers to many of the interrogatories.
The attorneys will use Form A Interrogatories as a tool to move their case forward in a civil action. After the defendant answers questions, the attorney for the plaintiff seeks documents in a request for production of documents to the defendant. The defendant then seeks documents from the plaintiff in a request for production of documents. Finally, a deposition is scheduled of the witnesses and all parties to get further and deeper answers to their questions.
Strategic use of Form A Interrogatories in a civil case can speed up a case by getting the important information on the record early. It can also ensure that the correct defendant is named in a case. A skilled attorney in NJ will evaluate Form A Interrogatories and how they can be used in a civil case.

Tools for Responding to NJ Form A Interrogatories

In addition to the explanations and advice in this blog post about how to respond to NJ Form A Interrogatories, the best way to learn about Form A and even to do them is to hire a lawyer who knows the Court Rules and how to fill them out, what you can object to, what discovery can be done in response to them, etc. This is your best option for a fair response to the interrogatories.
Also, the New Jersey Court Rules are always available online for you at the New Jersey Courts website. There are dozens of rules to read through and many of the rules relate to discovery issues and there are rules that relate to requests for interrogatories and answering them.
I believe one of the best books for the lay person on NJ divorce law and issues including form A discovery requests is the book A Divorce in New Jersey: The Adversary System, Mediated, Collaborative and Pro Se. This book has excellent explanations of all aspects of the divorce process in New Jersey from issuing the initial complaint for divorce to equitable distribution , alimony, child support, custody and everything else in between. There is at least a chapter on all of those topics of family law and divorce related issues and they explain what is involved and how the process works.
If books help you and you cannot afford a lawyer, this book is a great resource to help you understand the process and educate you about the system in New Jersey.
If you cannot afford to pay a lawyer $400-$600 per hour, there are a lot of organizations that have programs allowing you to have thirty minutes to an hour with a lawyer at no charge to get legal advice and information about your case. Many of these programs have their lawyers volunteering to be there. They may not give you the time you need, but it definitely helps to be educated and know what you need to know. Sometimes these organizations have many lawyers helping, other times just a few. Some courts have Family Law Programs to assist litigants in this manner, but many have only one per month.