How Social Media Can Negatively Affect Your Divorce

Social media has become a significant part of our everyday lives. From sharing photos to posting our innermost thoughts, we voluntarily provide a lot of our personal information online for the family, friends, and the world to see and react.

If you are in the middle of a divorce, your past and present activity on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can potentially affect your case. Information posted on social media is considered admissible evidence in a court of law and often used in divorce, alimony, child custody, property division, and other cases regarding family law.

The following are several examples of how social media can have a negative impact on your case:

• Disclose information about income or hidden assets – Individuals who are trying to prove that they are unable to make alimony or child support payments can jeopardize their case by posting photos of expensive clothes, new cars, and luxurious vacations. Furthermore, a person can be suspected of hiding assets if his/her spouse recognizes their belongings in the possession of a family member or close friend.
• Demonstrate being unfit for primary custody – Social media posts about a crazy night out with friends or recreational drug use, especially when you’re supposed to be taking care of the children, is enough to convince the court how unfit you are to be the primary custodian for your children. To make matters worse, it may result in an investigation by child welfare services.
• Spark jealousy – While it is not recommended to start dating during a divorce, many people do it anyway. However, posting on social media about how great your new love life is can make your soon-to-be-ex-spouse jealous, potentially resulting in a more hotly contested dispute that could prove costly in the end.
• Result in contempt of court – Many people share their thoughts on social media, especially when they’re having a bad day or experiencing stress. Those who vent about how the details of their ongoing divorce case can do more harm than good. The court could view this type of behavior as a violation of an order, leading individuals being held in contempt of court.

If you are going through a divorce, it is wise to avoid posting on social media until the case is resolved. But if you want to stay connected to friends and family during this trying time, avoid posting anything negative about your spouse or disclosing any details about your case. Do not post photos of lavish items if you going through an alimony or child support dispute and do not share your weekend plans when you are supposed to be with your kids.

If you are interested in filing for divorce in Fort Worth, contact our experienced legal team at The Clark Law Firm today.