Social media is more ubiquitous than ever, allowing individuals across the globe to share photos, thoughts, life experiences, and more through a variety of platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. While social media can be useful, it can also be incredibly detrimental for those going through a divorce, providing a wealth of evidence for spouses to use against one another. It can impact alimony, child support, child custody, and more. Continue reading to find out how this seemingly innocuous pastime can be harmful if you are in the midst of a divorce.
Dating Profiles
When you create a dating profile before your marriage is finalized, you open yourself up to some problems that can potentially derail your case. It can suggest you might have cheated and, more importantly, it might reveal you to be a liar. People often try to make themselves look better in their online dating profiles and that often involves stretching and massaging the truth. When you are involved in a divorce, however, this can make you look dishonest and cause problems in your case.
Child Custody
We share a lot on social media. We share what we are doing, when and where we are doing it, and with whom we might be sharing this experience. If you are a parent working through a child custody case and pictures of you behaving irresponsibly show up on social media during a time when you were supposed to be watching the children, this can severely harm your chances child custody.
Finances
People are likely not posting their annual income on social media, but bragging about your lifestyle essentially produces the same effect. For example, if you post about your lavish and exotic vacation, but claim to be too broke to afford spousal support, you might suffer some severe consequences for lying in court. If you think you are safe because your posts are private, keep in mind that you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse likely share several mutual friends and some of them might decide their loyalty is with your former partner and leak information to him or her.
Emails and Text Messages
Your emails and text messages can be subpoenaed and admissible in court, so be wary of what you decide to communicate in writing. If a spouse writes about an upcoming job or bonus that he or she has not revealed to the court, it can be used as evidence that this spouse is hiding assets and income.
Ultimately, it is wise to refrain from using social media during your divorce, but if you simply cannot cut it cold turkey, always consider everything you post. If you would not be comfortable with a judge seeing it, do not share it.
Trusted Miami Divorce Lawyers
At Mitchell & West LLC, our Miami divorce attorneys have the proven zeal and skill to effectively represent you and protect your interests throughout the divorce process. Our family law attorneys offer proven counsel for several divorce matters, including child custody, collaborative divorce, child support, high asset divorce, and more.
Contact our office today at (305) 783-3301 to schedule a consultation.