Social Media And Your Divorce: What You Need To Know
If you are getting divorced, most divorce attorneys recommend that you stay off of social media or, at the very least, significantly limit what you post to social media websites. This leaves many people with questions about why, what they can and cannot post and how social media can affect their divorce. Here are a few of the questions you may have and the answers to these questions.
Why You Should Watch What You Post
During a divorce, anything in the past and future can be brought up if it is relevant to the case. This includes postings concerning belongings, income, jobs and your parenting abilities. If you are trying to get sole custody of your child, but have pictures of yourself getting drunk on weekends, it may not bode well for your claims. Likewise, if you claim that you do not have a lot of disposable income to pay child support, but you have pictures of yourself buying designer handbags, it can cause a judge to go through your financial information carefully.
What You Should Avoid Posting
Most divorce attorneys recommend that you do not post anything on social media during a divorce. However, if you do feel the need to continue to post, be sure to avoid posting any information about the other party, details about the divorce, financial information or any pictures that may be taken in a negative light or may show you living a careless lifestyle.
When Private is Really Not Private
Many people going through a divorce are told not to post on social media. They ignore this advice, and instead, make their page private thinking that this will keep them safe. However, in some cases, you and your ex may share mutual friends. A private page is never truly private. Changing the settings does not mean that your information cannot or will not end up in court. Unless your ex hacks your page, the information can end up in court if someone shows him or her the page or the information you are posting. Never assume it cannot be shown in court just because your page is private because this is incorrect.
Any party can take information that they find on social media, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and use it against the other party in divorce proceedings. As such, most divorce attorneys recommend shutting your account down during a divorce proceeding. If you do decide to keep your account up, be sure to remove any past posts or pictures which may harm your case and limit postings in the future.