Privileged Communications - Divorce Encyclopedia

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Term Definition Privileged Communications - the right a spouse has to make admissions to an attorney or counselor that cannot be later used as evidence.

Application in Divorce The term refers to private communications between parties recognized as confidential, such as attorney-client, psychiatrist-patient, priest-penitent. In privileged communications, the privilege is held by the one who is protected -- the client, patient, penitent -- not the one must keep the secret -- the attorney, the psychiatrist, the priest.

While communications between a lawyer and his or her client are privileged, both by evidence."

In divorce actions where one of the parties is a lawyer, attorney-client action is inadvertently released.

Privileged communication also includes sanctions, such as having evidence prohibited or being barred from testifying.

Divorce trials are civil and do not normally involve questions of criminality; therefore, the constitutional guarantee against self-incrimination does not apply in divorce actions. However, in action may seek protection from self-incrimination.

Communications between a husband and a wife are protected.

In some nasty divorces, spouses come to battle stations by using spouse and he may not represent the other.

For obvious reaons, couples who have used the one lawyer to handle their legal affairs during the happier times of their marriage cannot use him or her to represent one of them when they part ways.

See Poisoning the Field of Contenders.