Can I seal the record in my Palm Beach trust dispute? Third DCA Case says prove irreparable harm.

Are you in a Palm Beach trust dispute? Do you want to seal the court case  so that these important documents are not public? It may be harder than you think, check out this recent case out of the Third District Court of Appeals.

Sealing the Record

• Court documents are a matter of public record in West Palm Beach.
• One of the main reasons people prefer a testamentary trust over a will is the fact that by default all wills must be filed with the court in order to be probated.
• By comparison trust documents are only filed if they are the subject of a dispute, even then they may not be filed in their entirety.
• So what about when your Boynton Beach trust is involved in litigation?
• That’s right, it all becomes public record.
• Luckily you can petition the court to seal the records.
• Do you know what the court will consider in ruling on that petition?
• If you lose, can you appeal?

 Emergency Petitions

• When you lose a motion for something like sealing the record you may be entitled to anemergency petition to a higher court to review that decision.
• Do you know what you need to show the court to get what you want?

Marko v. Berens

• The Third District Court of Appeal reviews all types of cases in and throughout Miami-Dade and Monroe County.
• The Court filed its opinion in the case of Marko & Magolnick P.A. et. Al. v. Berensregarding a request to seal records on April 22, 2015.
• The petitioners sought review of the trial court’s order that vacated a sealing of the record. The Court reviewed the petitions and the rest of the case. Ultimately it was held that the trial court did not depart from the essential requirements of the law. Also there was no showing of irreparable harm.

What does the court mean by irreparable harm?

• Is any abuse of private information ever repairable? What do you think?
• Palm Beach Probate litigators know that privacy of a client is essential. These trust documents can stay active for years and the terms of it should be protected.

Want to learn more? Check out the entire case by clicking here.