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Should You Have a Divorce Confidentiality Agreement?

When you go through a divorce, the reality is that you will need to exchange information and documents with the other party. Some of these items might be stored electronically, too.

It’s important for you to exchange some of this data in order to establish your assets, debts, and other financial information. You may be worried about everything being so exposed, though.

If you want to make sure that certain documents, such as items that aren’t publicly available, don’t end up being made accessible due to your divorce, then it may be time for a confidentiality agreement.

What is a divorce confidentiality agreement?

At its core, a divorce confidentiality agreement restricts either party from sharing information covered by the agreement outside the divorce. Usually, this kind of agreement is most important for business owners or employees of a company who have access to information that may not be public. That proprietary information has to be protected, and it’s your responsibility to make sure it isn’t leaked.

How does a divorce confidentiality agreement work?

A divorce confidentiality agreement works by detailing out which of the documents are or are not to be kept confidential. The agreement will dictate that no one other than the attorneys involved in the case (as well as other necessary experts) can have access to the information. This may be broken down even further to specify that the information cannot be shared with the media, family or friends.

The agreement will also need to provide information on how confidential documents should be destroyed once they’re no longer needed. For instance, it may specify that the documents need to be shredded and disposed of in multiple trash receptacles or that digital files need to be removed from computers or emails.

If you are a CEO, run a business, are an employee with private information or are otherwise in possession of information that you do not want to have go public after your divorce, consider asking for a confidentiality agreement. It can help you keep private materials out of the public eye, so that you can protect your company.

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