In today's day and age, maintaining a social media account has become an integral part of one's daily routine—much like eating, sleeping and breathing. While this may seem relatively harmless, it is important to understand that it could come back to bite you in the end. When you choose to share your life with Facebook friends or Twitter followers, you have willingly forfeited your right to privacy. This means that anything you say or post online would be fair game during a divorce. Nowadays, it is all too easy for an unsuspecting spouse to be blind-sided during contentious divorce proceedings when their former partner presents an incriminating photo or status update as evidence in the case—especially when it comes time to decide upon a suitable arrangement for child custody or alimony.
For example, a New York State family law judge recently awarded a father sole custody of his three children after the mother knowingly insulted her oldest son on Facebook. Not only did she call the ten-year-old boy an "asshole" on her social media profile, but she later testified that she wanted her friends to know it. While she has the right to say whatever she wants on her own social media profiles, a judge has the final say when it comes to sorting out the details of a divorce. For this reason, it is extremely important that you monitor the things that you post online if you have recently decided to separate from your spouse. Something that may seem innocent enough could be used against you later on, so there is no reason why you should hesitate to ere on the side of caution.
In another case, a wife sought permanent alimony from her husband after claiming that she had been irreparably disabled—subsequently prohibiting her from returning to work. Shortly thereafter, however, the husband presented several different blog posts that were written by his wife. In these entries, she revealed that she spent several hours dancing every day, thus contradicting her statement that she was too disabled to work. The court agreed and swiftly denied her request for lifetime spousal maintenance. As such, it is important for you to take this into consideration the next time you think about posting a new picture or status update to your Facebook profile. While it is possible that a judge could misinterpret your online admissions, it is recommended that you do not even take the chance.
To learn more about the importance of monitoring your online activities during a divorce, contact the Jacksonville divorce attorney at Charles E. Willmott, P.A. today. You will have the opportunity to discuss your case with our Board Certified divorce expert when you call at (904) 849-5183.