Your spouse has left the marital home…but your mail keeps coming. what’s in those envelopes? It is important? it’s a secret? can you open your spouse’s mail during a divorce in illinois?
not. you can’t open someone else’s mail…even if you’re married to the person on the mailing address. It is a federal crime to open someone else’s mail.
“whoever removes a letter, postcard, or package from any post office or any authorized depot for postal matters, or from any letter or carrier, or who has been in any post office or authorized depot, or in custody of any letter or postman, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was addressed, for the purpose of obstructing correspondence, or interfering in the business or secrets of another, or opens segregate, remove or destroy them, will be fined under this title or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. 18 usc 1702 (emphasis mine)
You can pick up your spouse’s mail and let them know you have the mail to pick up at a reasonable time and place. Realistically, your spouse will likely forward the mail immediately after realizing that you are in possession of their mail.
how to see what’s in your spouse’s mail
despite the warning from the u.s. federal law that you could spend 5 years in jail for opening your spouse’s mail, you can see your spouse’s mail…eventually.
The content of that email won’t be a secret for long. because you can simply request the contents of any envelopes you’ve collected through the discovery process.
in an illinois divorce, “a party may obtain by discovery full disclosure of any matter relevant to the matter involved in the pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the party seeking disclosure or from any other party, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any documents or tangible things, and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of the relevant facts.” ill. sorber. connecticut. r. 201(b)(1)
A notice to produce or deuces tecum summons may require your spouse to deliver the mail you collected shortly after it is delivered to you.
some emails will always remain private if the communication is privileged. requests for privileged communication may be objected.
“a party served with the written request shall… notify the party requesting objections in writing on the basis that the request is incorrect in whole or in part.” sick. sip. Connecticut. r. 214(c)
Unless the mail was from your lawyer, doctor, or therapist…they will have to deliver the mail.
“the purposes of litigation are best served when each party knows as much as is reasonably practical about the dispute”. misler v. mancini, 111 ill. 3d app 228, 231 (ill. app. ct. 1982)
Can I access my spouse’s email during my divorce in Illinois?
How much mail does anyone else get? your spouse is most likely communicating via email.
You may know your spouse’s password and be tempted to check your spouse’s email. It is illegal in Illinois to access another person’s email without their permission.
“a person commits computer tampering when, knowingly and without the authorization of the owner of the computer or in excess of the authority granted to him:
accesses or causes access to a computer or any part thereof, a computer network, or any program or data” 720 ilcs 5/17-51(a)(1)
“A person who commits computer tampering as set forth in subdivision (a)(1)…of this section is guilty of a class b misdemeanor.” 720 ilcs 5/17-51(b)
class b misdemeanors in illinois carry a sentence of up to 6 months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,500.
Also, accessing your spouse’s email without permission is a federal crime.
It is a federal crime to “intentionally gain unauthorized access to a facility through which an electronic communication service is provided” or “intentionally exceed an authorization to access that facility,” and in doing so “obtains, alters, or prevents authorized access. to a wire or electronic communication while it is electronically stored in such a system”. 18 usc § 2701(a)
punishment depends on the purpose for which you accessed the email.
“[i]f the crime is committed for commercial advantage, malicious damage or destruction, or private commercial gain, or in furtherance of any criminal or unlawful act that violates the constitution or laws of the united states or any state … a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, in the case of a first offense under this subparagraph” 18 u.s.c. § 2701(b)(1)
A meddling spouse will most likely be found to be just that, a meddling spouse and not a criminal with an evil purpose.
“[i]n any other case…a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 1 year or both, in the case of a first offense under this paragraph” 18 u.s.c. § 2701(b)(2)
what if my spouse is opening my mail or email?
forward your email and change your email password. it’s not rocket science.
You could report your spouse to the authorities and you might be prosecuted for opening the mail after you’re done with all the real crimes (sarcasm alert). Realistically, how is that going to help your divorce case?
It’s best to take the issue of opening mail and email directly to your divorce judge and ask him or her to prohibit your spouse from opening any more mail or trying to access your email.
an illinois divorce court can issue an order for “other appropriate temporary relief”, 750 ilcs 5/501(a)(3), which would include an injunction against opening mail not addressed to them.
the outside of the envelope is actually all the information you need
In conclusion, you don’t need to open your spouse’s mail or email because your illinois divorce attorney can request copies of all that mail. Furthermore, that email is only relevant when it comes to marital finances. the money referred to in the mail will be in some kind of account somewhere. the institution holding that account will be obvious… from the outside of the envelope (chase bank, northern trust, etc.)
If your spouse refuses to deliver the mail you received, you can always subpoena the institutions that sent the mail. then they’ll send you a copy of the contents of that email…and everything else they know about your spouse.
Being a divorce attorney means knowing a million little things, from preserving an evidentiary objection in open court to knowing if one spouse can open the other’s mail. make sure your illinois divorce attorney knows as much as possible about everything.
If your attorney says “I’ll look it up,” it means you’re missing key facts that can help or hurt your case. after all, you could have (in fact, you just did).
To speak with an experienced Illinois divorce attorney, contact my Chicago, Illinois family law firm to schedule a free consultation.