I had a situation in a divorce case a year so go in which a colleague's client had claimed that she was injured and couldn't work and so she needed maintenance. Well lo and behold the next day on Facebook two pictures of her and a couple of her friends out on the town partying and dancing and having a big time showed up on her Facebook page even though she claimed to have all these injuries that kept her from working. Needless to say, we then asked for a production of her entire Facebook account, it turned up nuggets of gold that we used in trying to get our divorce case settled. Facebook was not her friend that day, and we want to make sure that you don't make the same mistakes that my friend's client did as you go through your divorce. There are things that you don't want to post but let me just say that post divorce it's important as well as well as pre-divorce and during the time that you're in divorce proceedings that you take care of what you post on social media.
Imagine if your ex is coming back and trying to get custody of your children and something shows up on Facebook or Snapchat or Instagram that shows you partying and links you to people who maybe don't have a sterling reputation. That could be used against you. It's just like things that you say, and so you need to be on guard as to what goes on your Facebook page or other social media. Remember this - you may not post it, but one of your friends might post something and tag you at some place perhaps you're not supposed to be. I know of an instance where a custody battles was going on and dad had the children and ended up out partying on a Saturday night and was tagged at a certain bar by one of his friends, and it popped up on Facebook and got back to his ex. How do you think his case for custody went after that?
Here are some things not to post on social media.
1. Anything you don't want a judge to see. Don't post it. You can bet that if it's harmful to your case and and advantageous to your ex's or your soon-to-be ex's case that it's going to come up if they can find a way to get it in front of a judge.
2. Don't post anything that shows bad parenting behavior. I lost the case several years ago because my client had a picture that she shared freely on social media of her daughter walking around with a beer bottle. Her explanation was, "Well we washed it out and then she just walked around with it." Needless to say, that didn't go well. So, anything that would show bad parenting behavior on your part make sure that it doesn't get on social media during your divorce or afterward.
3. Anything that shows you have a new relationship I could potentially hurt. You and I know that in Kentucky where a no-fault state, but perhaps you took an extended expensive vacation with your new love interest. That could be considered wasting of marital funds because you're not divorced yet, so you have to be careful about these things as you go through your divorce.
4. Don't post anything bad-mouthing your ex. That's not going to pay off in any way shape or form. The people who know your know your ex, and there's no reason for you to badmouth your ex on social media. The only thing that can do is get your ex more angry with you and dig in harder and cost you more money and make it more difficult to negotiate and navigate through a divorce.
5. Don't post anything that would put your mental health in question. Again that's just like being a bad parent. You put something on social media that makes you look like you're nuts, and it's going to be used against you in any proceeding.
6. Finally, don't post anything that shows you can make more money or have more money than you claimed during the course of negotiating a settlement. That's not only fraudulent but it can really come back to bite you down the road if that's what's going on. Suppose you have said that you're unemployed and you need maintenance and all these things and then you go out and buy a new Lexus. Not good. And then you post pictures of it on Facebook or Instagram or Snapchat, and your ex finds out about it. And, here we go!
These are some cautions about social media. Social media is not your friend. The best thing to do is during the course of your divorce, don't post. And then after your divorce, be careful about what you post on social media.
JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP
Kentucky Divorce, Custody, and Child Support Group
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: KENNETH J. HENRY
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: KENNETH J. HENRY
Comments
Post a Comment