How you use social media can impact the outcome of your divorce proceedings, property division, child support, spousal support, and child custody arrangements  Even material shared only with friends may become available to your ex if the family court judge orders you to release your social media passwords, which is quite possible. It is imperative, therefore, that you exercise care in how you use social media before, during, and after divorce proceedings.

How Social Media Can Hurt You

Your use of social media, if used against you in divorce proceedings or even in private settlement negotiations with your ex, can dramatically weaken your position. Imagine the following scenarios, among others:

  • You are negotiating property division with your ex, and your ex discovers Facebook photos of you behind the wheel of an expensive car. This could trigger an investigation as to whether you maintain hidden assets.

  • You post negative comments about your ex online that add weight to your ex’s contention that you are trying to alienate your children from your ex.

  • In the midst of a child custody dispute, you post photos showing you smoking marijuana and drinking beer in the presence of your daughter – or one of your friends tags you in such a photo uploaded to your friend’s website.

The foregoing scenarios represent just a few of the many possible ways that the use of social media could affect your divorce proceedings. 

Rules to Follow

The following are some ways you can maximize your online safety during divorce proceedings: 

  • Block your ex, and block all of his or her friends. It’s not enough to delete them as friends – block them entirely.

  • Don’t accept friend requests from anyone you don’t know. In fact, during the heat of a contentious divorce proceeding, think twice about accepting a friend request from someone you think you do know, since the request could come from an imposter. 

  • Do not discuss your divorce online.

  • Do not insult your ex, and do not make any disparaging factual claims, even if they are true, that you could not prove in court.

  • Change all of your passwords, even if you believe your ex doesn’t know them. Select a secure password..

  • Adjust your privacy settings so that only your friends can see your profile.

  • Turn off geo-tags and check-ins.

  • Don’t say anything in private messages that you wouldn’t want to see in divorce court, because even “private” messages can be accessed under certain circumstances.

  • Delete anything that might make you look bad, even if it was uploaded long ago. This is no absolute guarantee that you will be able to keep it private, but it will it least make it more difficult for someone else to access it. 

  • Seek further advice from your lawyer on social media use based on the specific circumstances of your case.

Don’t forget to play offense as well as defense. Check your ex’s social media profile to look for anything that you could use to your advantage.

Take Action Now

If you are undergoing divorce proceedings, or if you plan or expect such proceedings to begin soon, call CKB Vienna today or contact us online to schedule a consultation with us. We serve clients in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County, and Orange County.

If you are going through divorce proceedings, or if you plan or expect such proceedings to begin soon, call us today. Learn on how we can help you.