Privacy is important to everyone in today’s world, including those couples seeking a divorce here in Waldorf, Maryland. In fact, some couples want to keep EVERYTHING about their Maryland divorce private and away from prying eyes, including the fact that a divorce is being sought. However, it is not possible to have a purely private divorce in Maryland since divorce involves legal filings in Maryland’s civil courts. Generally speaking, court filings and documents are available for viewing by the public.

That being said, in good news for those wanting privacy for their Maryland divorce, certain types of information can be kept private and sealed from being seen by the general public. For help maximizing the personal privacy of your Maryland divorce, call us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro at (301) 870-1200. We are divorce attorneys in Waldorf, Maryland, providing legal services for clients throughout Southern Maryland.

In general, the types of information that can be kept private include financial, medical, and parenting information, along with identifying numbers like a social security or tax ID number. More specifically, all of these documents can be filed under a privacy seal:

• General financial statements in Maryland divorce cases
• Statements concerning marital property — these are usually filed as “Joint Statements”
• Child support guidelines worksheets
• Parenting plans where child custody is at issue
• Maryland parenting plan tools and worksheets
• Statements of the parents concerning decision-making authority and parenting time — again, these are usually filed as “Joint Statements”
• Requests to waive court costs
• Information about insurance policies, retirement accounts, and similar
• Tax returns
• Social security and other personally identifying numbers
• Financial account numbers
• Medical reports and related account numbers

What is the process?

The above-listed documents are automatically considered to be confidential and private. However, the Clerk of Court needs to be alerted to the confidential nature of the documents being filed. Thus, when filing the above documents, the process involves attaching the documents/filings to a “Notice of Restricted Information Form.” This is a court form that notifies the Clerk of Court (and anyone else) that the document attached is confidential and is NOT allowed to be viewed by the general public. The presence of the Restricted Information Form is also used for coding, which applies to the online e-filing system/docket. In Maryland, some documents are available online.

With some documents and filings, only a part of the document is deemed to be restricted. For those documents and filings, the process is to file a “redacted” copy along with an “unredacted” copy. Redacted means that the information is blanked out or covered over in black ink. That is the “redacted” copy. One unredacted copy is filed and available to the court and the judge handling your case. All other copies are redacted. When filing a redacted document, a Restricted Information Form must also be filed.

There is also a process for keeping information confidential if the information does not fall into any of the above categories. This involves asking the Maryland divorce court for permission to file information under seal or restriction. An example might involve confidential business and financial information if the divorce concerns a closely-held business that might be subject to marital distribution.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Divorce Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Divorce lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.