Although we often don’t like to admit it, we all love a little juicy gossip sometimes. Especially when a high-profile celebrity has announced their divorce. Recently, in the news, there has been Jeff Bezos and his estranged wife MacKenzie. Then Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in the news on what seems like a daily basis. The first thing we want to know is what happened in their marriage. Why are they breaking up? Who gets what in the divorce? For the duration of the divorce, the media speculates and covers all they can about the topic. Then the divorce is finalized and – nothing. Obviously, they want to keep the intimate details of their divorce private. However, even if you are not a high-profile celebrity, you can absolutely keep the details of your divorce private in Texas.
Getting a divorce can become messy and more than likely it can become emotional. You may know that it will head in this direction and you may want to protect your name, your children, or your business. A lot of high-profile or public people will have a prenup in place that can protect them from certain things but when you don’t it is best to hire a well-trusted Texas divorce attorney and involve a mediator to help you with things like custody agreements, assets, etc.
Steps to making your divorce private in Texas
If you live in Texas it’s actually easier to make your divorce private and seal all or sensitive documents. According to Texas rule of civil procedure 76a states that documents presumed to be open to the general public may be sealed only upon a showing of all of the following… any probable adverse effect that sealing will have upon the general public health or safety.
This means you just have to prove that the sealing of the record will not have an adverse effect on public health or safety, and the records do not involve matters that should be available to the general public.
If you are serious about keeping your divorce private and out of the public eye here are some of the additional steps that you can take to protect yourself, your family, and your business.
1. Documents can be marked as sensitive
As you work through your divorce your Texas divorce attorney can mark certain documents as sensitive information. Your lawyer would need to include a notation saying, “This document contains sensitive information or data.” You can even do this for all documents that include information such as your address, social security number, and driver’s license number. This is extremely helpful to protect you against theft.
2. Conceal your identity
In divorce records, your lawyer does not have to include things such as your bank account information, your date of birth, your full name, etc. Many high-profile clients or celebrities will use just an initial or a mark instead of their full name to help conceal their identity. As long as you sign the same way throughout all the divorce proceedings, you don’t have to be a high-profile celebrity to conceal your identity.
3. Request a protective order
Along with your Texas divorce attorney, you can file a motion or a Protective Order or Confidentiality Order. In this Order, you can list everything that you would like to keep confidential. Couples do not have to agree under the law in Texas for a Protective Order.
4. Sealing of all records for a private divorce in Texas
As mentioned above, you can seal all records under Rule 76a – Sealing Court Records. You can request the entire divorce to become a private divorce in Texas. In high-profile cases, you can also include a confidentiality clause in addition to sealing all divorce documents. This helps to prevent any details of the divorce to be released to the public by the couple. Or by any outside parties. It is important to note that this is also something that can be included in a prenup agreement.
In addition, to further protect your divorce, your court hearing, and court decisions you can request for all your divorce proceedings to be held in a private room. This is because the courts are technically open to the general public. This is called a collaborated divorce and almost all high-profile clients and celebrities will make this request.
Our Texas Law Firm can keep your divorce private in Texas
We value each and every one of our clients and our goal is to help you navigate through your divorce. Our Texas law firm in Brazos Valley can assist you in helping protect your divorce and keeping your divorce private from the public.
