Do you need divorce decree?

Divorce decrees are documents prepared by the court which sets forth the terms and conditions of the divorce. Unlike divorce certificates which are only one page documents, divorce decrees are more than a single page because they are comprehensive and encompass all the details of the divorce. Testimonies over disagreements with regard to division of property, adultery, child custody and support are specified in these decrees.

A divorce decree is filed in the County Clerk or in the Vital Records Section of the county where the divorce was issued. If you want to get a copy you can do it personally or thru a request by mail. If you hire a private investigator, they should present a written authorization letter to get your divorce record. If the divorce was granted before January 1, 1963, divorce certificate were not yet available so you might as well request for a copy of the divorce decree

Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of 1963, divorce decrees are considered public. Although the choice to get a divorce is a personal choice, once it is signed by the judge it becomes available for all and are generally open to public viewing.

Even if this law is in place, there are couples who oppose the idea of their personal records open to the public. One of the reasons is because it makes them vulnerable to an attack.  They look for ways at having these divorce decrees private for their own protection.

Keeping a public record out of public scrutiny is difficult but not impossible. One way to go about it is by sealing your divorce records. This is against the FOIA but there are ways in place to get around this federal law.

First step is to enter into an agreement with your spouse to seal your records. You can then make an affidavit under oath where you will express your reasons why your records must be sealed. Sign it in the presence of a notary public.

Submit a motion requesting the court to seal your divorce records. There will be a hearing and the judge will decide on whether or not your divorce records will be allowed to be sealed.  More often, the court will not agree to keep the entire record private but they may agree to seal certain records based on the merits of your reason during the hearing.

This may be enough to spare you from trouble and those who search your record will have limited visibility. This action becomes important since accessing these records are easily done thru the internet. Because once these confidential information hits the net, there is no turning back- even if it means a court order.

Tags: divorce decrees divorce certificates vital records authorization letter