The Effects of Social Media on Divorce Proceedings

Social media has become integral to almost every aspect of modern life, including school, work, family, and even divorce. If you are contemplating a divorce or going through one, you may be experiencing high levels of overwhelming emotions and stress.

A study conducted by the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Boston University found a negative correlation between the quality of relationships between spouses and their use of social media.

While social media may not necessarily be the sole deciding factor in ending your marriage, your digital life and social media engagement may play an important role in divorce proceedings. Be prepared to consult with experienced divorce attorneys to learn more about the impact of your digital and social media presence on your divorce.

Avoid Social Media Use During Your WV Divorce

Social media can be a great outlet for communicating digitally and expressing creativity. But it has the potential to wreak havoc on a marriage and cause potential harm during divorce proceedings. There are several things you need to avoid when contemplating a divorce – and limiting your social media activity is one of them.

With emotions and tensions running high, you may get tempted to rant about or snub your partner online. You should avoid doing this at all costs. Your profiles (even the private ones) can be used against you as evidence in a family court.

Remove questionable friends and any connections that you are unsure about. Always be mindful that a private post on social media can be easily retrieved and used against you.

Effect of Digital Activity During and After a Divorce

You should take added precautions when online. Make sure the people you call friends are truly looking out for your best interests. An experienced divorce attorney will strongly encourage you not to post anything about your divorce on social media. This includes talking about your children and spouse or drafting an agreement.

Once the divorce is finalized, you should typically be free to post anything you want on your social media accounts. Besides that, if you have children, you may want to limit your online activity and avoid posting anything about your ex-spouse. Always remain cordial during your interactions with the ex-spouse – on digital platforms too.

Social Media Can Be Used as Evidence During a Divorce Proceeding in West Virginia

You and your digital activity will be perused closely by your spouse and their attorney. All aspects of your online presence will be investigated, and they can use anything they find against you. You can save yourself from pursuing difficult defenses by reviewing your past and censoring any current activity on social media.

For instance, liking inappropriate posts or comments, or posting a photo with a new date drinking at the bar could potentially be used against you. You should also consider the state of privacy of all your online accounts. You and your spouse may share mutual friends or the same network. It only takes one friend with less than sincere motives to divulge damaging information.

Further, the other side may request copies of your social media presence, including posts and accounts during the discovery process.

Impact of Social Media on Divorce Settlements and Child Custody

While you may not overtly post your latest salary check or income, there are more subtle ways of flaunting wealth on social media, which may make things difficult for you in a divorce settlement. It will reflect poorly on you if you claim not to be able to afford spousal maintenance or child support yet post photos of a lavish ski resort vacation, for example.

The same holds true if you claim to be out of work yet post photos of your office and coworkers. The news is full of people that believed they could hide income and assets in a divorce but slipped up on social media. The fact is that social media can give people a high level of information about your life.

Social media can also have an impact on child custody matters. It’s all too common for judges to negatively react to posts where a parent can be seen binge drinking when they should have been at home watching the child. The same holds true if you post pictures of your child on dangerous excursions or doing dangerous things.

Telling the mom that you are visiting the zoo, but taking the kids paragliding may not sit well with the child’s mother, and vice versa. Honesty matters.

Get a Skilled and Compassionate Family Law Attorney on Your Side

If you are contemplating a divorce or are already going through one, the experienced family law attorneys at Pence Law Firm, PLLC can lend insight into the various issues that may impact your future and the best course of action to take. Our lawyers will work with a singular goal of achieving what matters to you the most – a successful divorce resolution to your best satisfaction.

Schedule your free and confidential consultation with us today. Call (304) 345-7250 or write to us online.