Why it helps to stay offline during a divorce

When you are going through a divorce, it’s understandable to be upset. To want to vent and talk about your frustrations.

Many Texans take to Facebook or Twitter to air out their grievances, only to find out later these posts can be costly.

How online behavior can impact your divorce

Many don’t know it’s possible for online behavior to impact a divorce. Social media is public record. Your ex’s attorneys can use anything you post or share in the courtroom and vice versa.

Social media can impact things like:

Spousal maintenance

If spousal maintenance is up for debate during your divorce, both parties can use the other’s posts as evidence. Your ex may scrutinize any posts implying wealth or financial gain. When establishing a standard of living, things like a status update talking about an upcoming vacation can end up in court. A simple photo upload can end up costing you thousands of dollars in court.

Child custody arrangements

If your spouse is watching your children and they post pictures at a bar on Facebook, it can affect your custody arrangement. Even checking into a restaurant or bar while having custody of your children can be a reason to sway custody agreements. Courts take parenting responsibility very seriously.

Potential infidelity

Dating profiles or preemptive flirting on social media may establish claims of infidelity. Even though you likely already consider yourself divorced, the court does not. It’s important to stay off dating sites while waiting for your divorce to finalize.

Treating social media with caution

While you may not realize it, your activity on social media can build a case against you. It’s important to understand the far-reaching consequences of Facebook posts or Twitter activity, as silly as it seems.

If you’re worried about potential past social media activity, it’s important that you do not delete it. That’s considered obstructing evidence and can lead to heavy penalties or jail time. Instead, consult a skilled attorney to determine how your divorce may be affected by online activities.