Regardless of who asked for a divorce, facing the end of your marriage can be an emotional process. Even when you know the divorce was the right decision, it can still be difficult to close such a significant chapter of your life.
Now that friends and family find themselves in different parts of the country and the globe, it can be challenging to find the support you need as your family goes through changes. It can be tempting to turn to social media to let your loved ones know what is happening and to receive their support.
Here are some ways a social media post could impact your case.
Uncovering what is hidden
One way to discover someone’s hidden assets is to look at their social media page. While they may not mention the divorce specifically, a post about an expensive vacation could contradict a claim that they cannot afford spousal support.
While there could be a situation where this works in your favor, keep in mind that uncovering social media posts can go both directions. Your safest option is to talk to your friends and family individually and privately, and keep information about your divorce off social media.
Beware the screenshot
Instead of leaving information off social media, people will often restrict access to their accounts, so their posts are not visible to certain people. While this is a good practice in general, it will not necessarily protect your posts from being discovered in court.
You may have blocked your ex from social media, but there could be friends of friends who can see your posts. Once someone who has access sees the post, they can take a screenshot and distribute the information to your ex. Keep in mind, this is also true of platforms like Snapchat, where the post “disappears” after a certain amount of time. A simple screenshot can take a message from private to public in seconds.
When courts consider information from social media, they generally view it as information that you intend for the public to have. There is very little (if any) expectation of privacy on social media.
As you are going through the divorce process, it is best to keep the details of your life between close friends and family.