Divorces often involve the most intimate details of one’s life and if you are like most people, you are not very keen to have your entire life and martial troubles laid out before the entire world. However, the California courts are, for the most part, public courts. This means that anyone can walk into court and request records on a case or watch any motions or trials that take place. While certain family law cases such as adoptions or paternity actions are not generally available to the public, divorces, for the most part are available for anyone to witness and research.
Thus, generally, your divorce will be available to public. There are, however, certain ways to structure a divorce so that the entire proceedings are not publicly available. For instance, if a divorce is resolved by a marital settlement agreement, the parties can create a contract such that the specific terms are not publicly filed. Further it is possible to structure a judgment in a divorce such that any motions filed in court require that the terms of the divorce are submitted via sealed envelope for review in the judges chambers. Steps such as these can help make sure that you very private matter stays as private possible.
The experienced San Francisco attorneys of Jones & Devoy LLP can provide you with the help you need to keep your divorce private. Call us today for a free consultation.
