Son wants to view the report.
October 10, 2011 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Dear Sir or Madam,
As part of a legal dispute regarding the visitation rights for my then 10-year-old son in 2001, a report was prepared for the court about us parents and our son. The result was a recommendation regarding the initiation and determination of visitation rights. Today - 10 years later - my son wants to work through his "family history" and has asked me to view this report. I would like to give him the 70-page document, but I am not sure if doing so would potentially violate the privacy rights of my former partner / his mother. What is the legal situation in this regard? Does my son have a right to view this report or does it require the mother's approval?
Kind regards,
M.
Dear Seeker of Advice,
Thank you for your inquiry. I would like to answer it as follows:
If I understand correctly, this concerns an official expert opinion that was prepared for the court as part of a court case that also involved your son (it was ultimately about visitation rights).
I cannot see how granting your son access to this expert opinion could constitute a violation of the mother's right to privacy.
After all, you did not prepare the opinion. Furthermore, it was an expert opinion requested by the court in an official court process, so your son could generally have knowledge of the opinion through access to the file.
I hope I have been able to provide you with some initial legal guidance and wish you much success and all the best!
I would like to point out the following:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only a preliminary legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive review of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information could lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanations have been helpful to you. Feel free to contact me through the follow-up option if you have any further questions.
Wishing you a pleasant Monday evening!
Kind regards from the North Sea coast,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney
