Divorce proceedings can be volatile, messy affairs, with one or both parties struggling to control feelings of rage, grief, resentment, or remorse. As the court reviews the terms of your divorce, you could start to feel you've reached your breaking point, incensed by what your soon-to-be former spouse seems to be getting away with, or so wracked with guilt you're dying to tell everyone the sordid things they don't know about your role in the marriage's failure. 

Count to ten. 

Any kind of outburst, wrathful or confessional, could cause you far more trouble than the momentary catharsis is worth—especially if you hold a professional license. That license is probably the key to your livelihood; lose it, and you'll find yourself divorced and professionally disenfranchised. 

If you hold a professional license and find yourself in the thick of a contentious divorce, the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can help. Call us at 888.535.3686 or contact us online so we can review your situation and find the best path forward.  

Family Court Proceedings Can Become Public Records 

Family court proceedings are usually open to the public, and the electronic records are readily accessible to anyone, including journalists. Hearings that are closed to the public and sealed records are the exceptions to the rule, and usually only occur in family law cases that involve abuse or when the information surrounding the dissolution of the marriage would put one of the parties or their children in physical danger. 

Family Court Records Can Be Used Against You  

Family court records in a divorce can reveal information about a person that their professional licensing board could see as grounds for revocation of the license.  

For example, one spouse's reference to their own excessive alcohol or drug use, inadvertently included in a harangue about the other's puritanical attitudes and tendencies to authoritarianism, could endanger their license as a healthcare professional if their licensing board found out about it. An architect launching accusations at their would-be ex that are so nonsensical as to indicate serious mental instability could put that license at risk, should their licensing board see the records. A social worker, tormented by guilt and shame, confessing they're leaving their spouse because the spouse is “poor” and “poverty is gross” could come under serious scrutiny from their board. 

Evidence of bad behavior revealed in the white-hot heat of the moment during divorce proceedings usually will not bode well for the professional license holder. 

An Angry Ex Can Derail Your Professional License 

Any person with a grievance or complaint against a licensed professional can file it with the appropriate state licensing authority. There may be procedural differences between the fifty states, but the barriers to filing a professional license complaint are not high. There are also state-specific differences in professional licensure investigations and review procedures. 

Considerations During Your Divorce 

You're at a crossroads in your life during your divorce. Don't make it worse by admitting to or demonstrating bad or unstable behavior and jeopardizing your professional license. You worked hard to earn it, it's what makes your career—and your livelihood—possible, and you must protect it. 

Contact the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team  

If you hold a professional license and are involved in a contentious family law proceeding, we can help you protect your valuable professional license. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888.535.3686 or contact us online for all your professional licensing issues.