3. How can Facebook postings be used as evidence in a divorce case?
What type of information or pictures you post online could ultimately be used as evidence against you in the family court. I have diligently searched the net and found many examples wherein social media postings have had an important impact on the divorce case. These examples are as follows:
- A husband joined Match.com and declared he was single and childless, while he seeking primary custody of his children.
- A husband denied that he had any anger management issues but he still posted on Facebook: if you have the balls to get in my face, I’ll kick your ass into submission.
- A wife was fighting for custody of her kids while subpoenaed evidence surfaced from the gaming site World of Warcraft tracks her online with her boyfriend at the precise time she claimed to be out with her children.
- A mother denied in court that she smoked marijuana, but she posted partying, marijuana-smoking photographs of herself on Facebook.
- A soon-to-be ex-husband claimed he was unemployed, and he was receiving temporary alimony payments from his wife. However, on Facebook the unemployed man described himself as a business owner and he also wrote details about trips to Las Vegas, South America and to Sea World all taken with his new girlfriend. At the divorce trial the judge denied the husband’s request to receive any type of alimony.
- A father claimed he could not afford to pay any type of child support. However, his online postings showed off photographs of him sitting in a Ferrari, taking a cruise, and selling land that he owned.
4. What precautionary steps should I take to ensure that my social media postings don’t ruin my divorce case?
If you are getting a divorce then you should log off any social media websites. You are putting your social life out there for the world to inspect. Remember you are an adult and you are not dating back in high school. If you are engaging in any type of questionable behavior then you shouldn’t be putting it online, or someone like me might try to use it against you. You should be very aware of what you are posting online. It is advisable to use your privacy settings, and to use discretion if you use any social media sites. You should also periodically search your own social media sites to ascertain what kind of information about you is already published on the web. In my experience social media evidence is being used more and more in the family courts. In the majority of the cases, the courts will not place much weight on social media evidence. However, there are scenarios wherein the use of social media evidence can be disastrous to your case.