The Tennessee Bar Association will push legislation making divorce filings secret for up to ten days, according to The Tennessean.

At issue: When someone files for divorce, the case becomes a public record. That sometimes happens before the responding husband or wife has been notified and served with a protective order, TBA Executive Director Allan Ramsaur said.

Attorneys fear the timing of notification could create a risk of retribution, and through the TBA, will ask legislators to consider a law in the coming session to initially make filings secret.

“Respondents find out that their spouse has filed for divorce before safety plans can be put in place or before restraining orders can be served,” TBA President Jonathan Steen said in a statement. “We think a targeted solution to this problem is that information about the filing of divorce should be delayed until the respondent is served.”

Ramsaur said the association of legal professionals, which includes more than 13,000 members, will propose a law exempting divorce filings from public record “until served or 10 days, whichever occurs first.”

More than 29,700 divorces were filed in the fiscal year spanning 2012 and 2013, the most recent year for which data was available, according to the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Law requires a protective order when each case is filed, and if there is a threat of harm, people can also seek a more stringent restraining order, Ramsaur said.

In some areas, such as Memphis, Ramsaur said, there are newspapers that publish new filings the next day, making the risk of early notification a greater concern. He was not aware of any that do so in Nashville, but said gossip could also allow someone to find out about a filing before being served.