{Read in 3 Minutes} As a Trusts and Estates attorney, I frequently represent clients in the Surrogate’s Court. It may be incident to a probate proceeding, an administration proceeding, an accounting proceeding, a guardianship proceeding, or various other applications that the Surrogate’s Court might handle.
In general, and as is the case with most courts in the U.S., everything filed in Surrogate’s Court is a matter of public record, meaning that anyone can go to the record room or more realistically access, or, more conveniently, access the records online from their home and review all of the documents filed in the courts. There are some exceptions to this: For example, death certificates are not publicly viewable to avoid identity theft, and Courts routinely restrict access to guardianship files to protect the interests of minors or people suffering from an intellectual disability.
What happens if a party wants to seal records that do not fall into one of these categories? Can the Court do this? In general, the answer is yes.
Generally speaking, Courts can seal records, but are usually very hesitant to do so. Having court records publicly available means that members of the public and the press can always see what Courts are doing. It avoids any suspicions or accusations that the Court is biased in favor of one side or another. However, the Court may choose to seal something if it is especially sensitive. For example, this may include birth certificates of minors or cases where minors are going to be inheriting large sums of money, and their parents are worried about people trying to take advantage of them for financial gain.
Sometimes, it may also have to do with something in another court. For example, one party may have an Order of Protection against another from a Criminal Court or Family Court proceeding. In that situation, a party might want to apply to the Court to restrict access to the party’s mailing address for safety reasons. In general, this would be a matter of public record, but one can apply to the Court to prevent it from being seen.
As mentioned above, Courts never automatically seal records (except with death certificates and guardianship proceedings). If a party wants to ask the Court to seal a file, they can do so through a motion to the Court, which is best accomplished with an attorney. However, if not, many of the Courts in the downstate area have “self-help centers” where court staff can help unrepresented litigants bring applications before the Court. For more information on this topic, please contact me.