During the course of your divorce, you may be required to disclose some medical information if it is relevant to your case. The mental and physical condition of a parent could become relevant in child custody proceedings, for example. Frequent hospitalizations or major healthcare needs might also impact spousal maintenance arrangements or the asset and debt division process.
Although you do not need to allow complete, uninhibited access to your medical records, you do need to comply with court orders to provide records that relate to your case.
Limiting the use of medical records
Understandably, some people will be concerned about their privacy rights being violated if they allow for their medical records to be used during the course of a divorce. If there are medical conditions or treatments that are irrelevant to your case, even with issues such as spousal maintenance and child custody, you can prevent that information from being discussed as part of your divorce. It is important to communicate with your attorney and make sure your privacy is being protected.
Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need to provide medical records that prevent you from working or indicate a disability if you are claiming that to be a factor in your spousal maintenance request. You may be able to provide some medical records with redacted information if you believe that not all of the information in a specific document is relevant to the case.
For more information regarding the use of health records in the divorce process, speak with an experienced Minnesota family law attorney at Appelhof, Pfeifer & Hart, P.A.
