Family Law Questions
Posted by Judy Meadows on January 25, 2008
As a family law practitioner, I am concerned about the many instances where disclosure of the following are required by the state or by the Court in documents to be filed in the Court.
(1) Complete social security numbers;
(2) Complete financial account numbers;
(3) Full names of minor children;
(4) Full birth dates of any person.
Specific instances where the above may be required include:
- MT Child Support Affidavits (social security numbers, birth dates of children)
- Qualified Domestic Relations Orders and the like
- Parenting Plans
- Petitions for Dissolution/Legal Separation which include children
- Final Decrees of Adoption, Dissolution, Legal Separation (especially where a woman wishes to be restored to her maiden name and a full birth date must be provided in the decree)
- Adoption petitions, decrees
I believe family law practitioners will be able to comply readily with some of the requirements, e.g., partial bank accounts, social security numbers in MT Child Support Affidavits, but not all, e.g., QDROs.
Judy Meadows said
The only reasonable way to approach this in a family law matter is to have both parties stipulate to seal the entire record. If not, the risk of identity theft and the like is far more remote that one of the parties being whipped into a state of indignation over some technical breach of the privacy rules.