NY A06804

Restricts access to court records in mental hygiene guardianship proceedings (Article 81), allowing only parties, their attorneys, guardians, court evaluators, and court examiners to view or copy documents without a court order

Eliminates the existing requirement that courts make a written finding of "good cause" before sealing guardianship records, replacing it with automatic confidentiality protections

Removes the right of allegedly incapacitated persons to request that court records be sealed, as records would now be confidential by default

Applies retroactively to all past, present, and future Article 81 proceedings, though county clerks are only obligated to restrict access to older records they can readily identify

Courts retain authority to seal or further restrict access to records from proceedings held before the effective date and may issue additional protective orders for good cause