Using Social Media During Your Divorce

Social media may be a medium that is barely a decade old, but it has quickly and rapidly changed how we communicate and interact. Social media now has such a tremendous impact on our lives that even the smallest things can have potentially life-altering consequences. This is particularly true when it comes to divorce cases. In fact, divorce attorneys around the country have reported skyrocketing increases in the number of divorce cases in which social media behavior is one of the primary causes for the breakup. However, even if you’re in the middle of a divorce for other reasons, there are still ways in which your profiles could come back to have an impact on your case.

Messaging

Most social media networks have private messaging systems, such as Facebook’s Chat feature, Twitter’s Direct Messages, and more. Sometimes the messaging doesn’t have to be affiliated with one particular platform: even emails have played a role in divorces before. This is primarily because these messages are considered admissible evidence in court. Is your spouse threatening you with domestic violence? You could use those messages as evidence to support both an order of protection as well as child custody. It’s strongly advised you don’t put anything you wouldn’t want a judge or the entire world to read in an email or social media platform message.

Conduct Clues

What you post on your social media accounts could provide subtle clues as to what’s going on in your divorce case. For example, if your significant other claims they’re broke but pictures reveal they just bought a brand new BMW, you could use this as evidence to show they’re hiding assets, which is against the law and highly frowned-upon by divorce court judges. Furthermore, some spouses don’t wait until a divorce is finalized to jump back into the dating game and start creating profiles on dating websites. Keep tabs on what they’re posting on these profiles as well: while these aren’t typically thought of as social media networks, they could still have a lot of influence over the course of your case.

Rules Apply to You Too

Remember, just because you suspect your spouse of misconduct doesn’t mean they don’t suspect the same of you. You too can make any mistake that they can make, which can lead to serious and life-changing consequences. While the best course of action during your divorce is to simply deactivate your profiles and go “off the grid” until your case completes, it’s a good rule of thumb to carefully monitor what you post if you can’t. Ask yourself: “Would I want to share this with the entire world?” If the answer is no, then don’t post it. Simple as that. Always expect your spouse and their attorney to be watching you as closely as you’re watching them.