How your Facebook activity could jeopardize your pending divorce case
Almost everybody is active on social media these days. Although these social networks may appear like casual places to interact with friends and family, upload and share photos, and learn about future events, remember that social media is anything but private. For a while now, evidence unearthed from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have been submitted in many family law cases such as custody disputes, child support hearings and divorce proceedings. This article looks at how your social media activity can negatively affect your divorce case. Read on.
Your public posts will become evidence
While your partner cannot log in to your Facebook account without your authorization, your partner and his or her divorce attorney can actually comb through your publicly-available pictures, status updates, and comments for information to use against you. For example, if your spouse claims that you have been engaging in extramarital affairs, how can they prove this?
Well, if you're a passionate user of Facebook, then your Facebook page could provide leads while the divorce case is pending. A scandalous photo on Facebook may actually be worth a thousand words as it may feature more than simply a photo. It may include a comment from a friend who was in attendance at the night out or on the holiday vacation where the suspected adulterous acts happened. Your spouse and her or his attorney will thus have a name and contact information of a potential key witness.
Your posts could depict a moment of weakness
It just takes a moment of weakness and madness to post content on your social media page that may be damaging to your divorce case. This damaging content is aired out to the public to see, including your partner and their attorney who is devotedly scouring your Facebook page for any incriminating evidence.
For instance, say you filed for divorce against your marital partner because he or she engaged in adultery but you decide you want to even things out by also being faithful. So in a moment of madness, and to prove to your spouse that tit for tat is a fair game, you proceed to post an immoral photo of yourself on social media. Your partner's lawyer will certainly use that scandalous photo to question your suitability as a parent as well as your fidelity to your spouse, thus jeopardizing your divorce proceedings, or worse.
If you're concerned about how your Facebook page could affect your divorce case, contact a family lawyer for a free consultation.