When you are going through a divorce and might have a custody battle, it can be tricky.
Your kids and livelihood are at stake, but do you know what can potentially impact your case the most? Your social media presence.
Depending on your lifestyle, the messages and images you post can have catastrophic consequences on your divorce case. For instance, if you or your friends post frequent videos of you partying or doing drugs, you might lose custody of your kids.
Furthermore, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are now more popular than ever before. So, your social media presence is important. Period.
So will it impact your divorce case? Yes. But how so? Let’s find out.
Content Can Be Used Against You
On all of the social media platforms, there are different types of content that can be used against you. These include written captions, images, and videos.
For example, around 66 percent of divorce evidence comes from Facebook, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. And it’s not all private either.
Even if you have a private profile on Facebook, the content that you or your ex spouse post can still be held against you in a court of law. So be sure to focus on privacy settings on Facebook, as well as other platforms you may have.
The Different Aspects of a Divorce Case
When it comes to the different aspects of a court case, social media can affect all of them including alimony, child custody, and high asset divorce.
For instance, if you might be posting violent or threatening comments toward your former wife on Facebook, that can be used against you.
According to the Denver divorce lawyers from Ciancio Ciancio Brown, an attorney can help you represent your best interests in custody and child support. The results might not be guaranteed depending on the facts and circumstances of your case, but they will fight for the custody that you deserve.
You might also want to think about how divorce can impact your financial status, or even your LinkedIn. If you might be dealing with a former spouse who might be financially stable and claims to not be, you could use his LinkedIn profile as evidence.
If your former spouse has a high paying job that is on his LinkedIn or professional networking profile, that can lead a judge to believe that the former spouse is financially stable and that he can pay child support.
Legal Admissibility of Social Media Evidence
It’s also crucial to think about social media evidence that can be dismissed in court.
In the case of the State of Connecticut v. Eleck, Facebook evidence was provided to the jury, but there was no was no way to prove the authenticity of the messages since the defendant claimed that her account had been hacked.
If there is no way to prove the authenticity of the social media messages, that can be used against you in a court of law. You also might not be able to present social media as evidence to a judge if there is no validity to it.
So case in point, be careful what you present.
Practical Tips for Navigating Social Media During a Divorce
When you are going through a divorce, it might be tempting to put information that trashes your ex to the public.
But, be very careful about doing that. If your ex shows that in a court, a judge will be less likely to rule in your favor. Even if your profile is private, the content you post can still be seen, depending on your social media presence.
Be Careful About What You Post On Social Media
In summary, when navigating a divorce case, you need to be careful about what you post on social media. Since the content you post can have an impact, there are different aspects of a divorce to keep in mind, and the legal admissibility can have an impact too.
Furthermore, you need to be careful about what you post, since anything that you say or do can have an impact on your court case.
We are not lawyers and this is in no way intended to be used as legal advice . We cannot be held responsible for your results. Always do your own research and seek professional legal help.
Meg is an author at Cinnamon Hollow. She writes on a variety of topics sharing tips and ideas for daily life.