Divorcing spouses that choose outside-of-court dispute resolution, like mediation or collaborative law , often list privacy as one of their primary reasons for choosing to avoid court.  This may seem obvious when thinking about the publicity around celebrity divorces  but anyone having their dirty laundry aired publicly can be damaged both emotionally and financially.  Below are some precautions that practitioners and clients can take to protect private information in divorces, even if they're not a celebrity. 1.  Protect Personal Identifying Data:  The court process in many states is public (in Massachusetts this includes hearings, most court documents, and trials), however there are some limitations on what information is public.  Certain documents, such as the Financial Statements, are typically impounded, meaning the public does not have access to those documents and they are only available to court personnel, parties and their counsel. ...

Many of our clients or potential clients are concerned about whether their court records will be made available to the public. In most instances court records are available to the public, with some limited exceptions. This includes the contents of case files, pleadings and motions. In family law (divorce, paternity, guardianship) cases some materials are not public, such as findings of non-paternity in a paternity suit. In addition you can request that certain information be impounded such as an individual's address (impounded by the judge "upon good cause shown" -- which may be harder to show than one might imagine). Additionally, family law case files automatically impound some materials, such as financial statements, child support guideline worksheets, and reports of a guardian ad litem, probation officer or court clinic. Practically speaking, the availability of the public portions of your case file does not necessarily mean that any member of the public will a...