Going through a divorce is never easy and some of us want to keep details about our divorce private.
This is often true in situations where one or both spouses are prominent members of their community or are concerned about details of their divorce affecting their job or career.
Concerns over privacy are even more understandable after the technological revolution of recent years. Personal information, including information about legal proceedings, can often be easily accessible to almost anyone.
Consider collaborative divorce
There are many things you can do to help keep your divorce private. Collaborative divorce methods have become popular in recent years. These are proceedings such as arbitration or mediation.
Choosing collaborative divorce over traditional litigation is a great way to keep your divorce private. Your mediation or arbitration is typically conducted in private, with just you, your spouse, your divorce attorneys and the mediator or arbitrator.
If you come to an agreement using collaborative divorce, the agreement can be filed with the court, and you will be issued a divorce decree.
With traditional litigation, you and your spouse give testimony against each other and present evidence, all of which become part of your divorce record.
Sealing your divorce records
You and/or your spouse can petition the court to seal your divorce records, meaning they will not be accessible to the public.
This is not an automatic right. Even if both of you petition the court for record sealing, the judge may choose not to seal the records.
Public policy dictates that records should be open to the public; however, the judge will balance this against the potential for damage caused to you or your spouse.
You should provide a specific reason that your records should be sealed, such as that valuable business or financial information would be revealed.
Stop using social media as much as possible
Social media is a part of almost all our lives. Although it may be difficult, do not post about your divorce on social media. Staying off social media entirely until your divorce is final is even better.
There is no guaranteed way to ensure complete privacy in your divorce but taking these steps can help.