When you’re in the middle of a divorce, nearly every aspect of your life can be put under the microscope. Sometimes there’s good reason for this, such as when the court tries to determine physical and legal custody as well as property division. In other instances, though, the most intimate parts of your life are dragged forward as a way to try to shame you into submission.
Although the court should block this sort of evidence from being used against you, the broad considerations in a divorce give the other side a lot of latitude when presenting arguments. That’s why as you proceed through your marriage dissolution, you need to figure out the best way to protect your privacy.
How to protect your privacy in a divorce case
If you’re nervous about your personal life becoming part of the public record, then you need to find ways to maintain your privacy. Here are a few ways you may be able to accomplish that:
- Consider divorce mediation: Divorce cases that are litigated in court are public in nature, which means embarrassing facts about you and your marriage can be widely known. If you chose to settle your divorce through mediation, on the other hand, then your discussions throughout that mediation process are kept confidential.
- Stay off social media: Although social media can be a great outlet, it can be dangerous in the divorce context. Your spouse could use your posts against you to attack you in a child custody dispute, and such evidence can have a profound impact with the court. Therefore, it’s best to stay off social media until your divorce is finalized.
- Change your passwords: There’s a fair chance that your spouse knows your passwords to various accounts. If you don’t change those passwords, then they might be able to access sensitive information that you want to keep private.
- Redirect mail: If you’ve moved out of the marital home, then don’t forget to change your address with the post office. If you forget to do so, then your spouse might get their hands on information that they were never intended to see.
- Request that your case be sealed: In some instances, a divorce case can be sealed, meaning that it becomes confidential, and the information disclosed during the process is kept out of the public light. To seal your case, though, you and your spouse will likely have to agree to it, and you’ll also have to provide the court with strong justification for keeping an otherwise public case confidential.
If privacy is important to you, then we encourage to follow these tips. If you’re in a marriage involving domestic violence and abuse, then you need to be even more careful with how you protect your information. The good news is that you can build an effective strategy if you start thinking through your case early on.
Developing a sound divorce strategy that suits your needs
There’s certainly a lot to contend with when you get a divorce. So much so that you might find yourself overwhelmed. When that happens, you could find yourself wanting to shut down and rush the process. Resist this urge. You can and should take control of your marriage dissolution by gaining a command of the facts, knowing the law, and finding ways to take care of yourself. By doing that, you’ll hopefully be able to secure a fair outcome that puts you on the path to a successful post-divorce life.
