by Stacey N. Warren

Most Iowa divorce records are private until the court enters a final decree. From the time of the divorce filing until the decree’s entry, the court records in your divorce case are generally only available to the attorneys in the case, the court, court officers (like the court clerk), and the Iowa Child Support Recovery Unit. One exception is that payment records regarding child support and spousal support (alimony) are public records and can be released if someone requests them before the decree’s entry. 

Once a divorce decree is entered, the entire record is accessible to the public. Although the documents may not be available online, any person may make a request and obtain copies of your divorce file from the clerk of court. If your case is not a divorce but is a custody case, it is a public record from the start.

Divorce Decree & Judgments

A decree may include provisions for child support, alimony or spousal support, or property settlement payments. If it does, these periodic payments owed by a party become judgments and show up in the court file. The divorce records must be public because, in Iowa, judgments are entered against real property ownership. They are recorded automatically against real property in the same county where the divorce took place.

An attorney or a party can also record the judgments in any other county in Iowa where the one who owes the obligations owns real property. A judgment may prevent a seller from selling their home or other lands until the periodic payments are paid current and proper releases are filed.

Your Dirty Laundry is Not Their Business

If other information in your court file is not a judgment, but it is something you want no one to access, like an affidavit someone gives for a temporary custody hearing or required financial statements, you can protect it. 

If preventing future employers or nosy third parties from finding out the details of your divorce is something you’ve worried about, you need to take steps during your case to control access to the court file in the future. Your attorney can seal parts of a court record if they handle the information correctly. The court may also seal documents in a non-divorce family law case if a party makes the appropriate requests.

Using an Attorney to Protect Your Information

The attorneys at CashattWarren Family Law can protect your interests by filing the right documents needed to restrict certain information from public access. Our team can draft final documents to minimize information accessible by others upon your decree’s entry. 

While divorce can be messy – both personally and financially – you want to take the necessary steps to keep that mess in the past so it doesn’t complicate your future.