Social Media & Your Family Law Case | Family Law

Ways that social media posts can be used in your family law matter
There has been an increase in the use of social media in family law cases.  When you are going through a divorce, custody, or placement battle what you post on social media networks can come back and show up in court.

What you can do to protect yourself
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1. Shut down or disable your account.  The best thing to do is to stop using social media prior to and during your family law case.  There is certainly a possibility that screenshots or copies have been made of your profile/comments/pictures, etc.  Shutting down the account will also help you resist the temptation to post or comment during the process.

2.  Check your Privacy Settings. If you are not going to shut down the social media accounts then you need to check and double check your privacy settings.  Limit the people that can see your posts, comments, pictures, etc.  Keep in mind that while tightening up your privacy settings can help, this does not guarantee that spouse/former partner will not still find a way to access this information through a friend, relative, or co-worker.  

 3. Change your password. Make sure you change your password to something that your spouse/former partner does not know.  Deactivating an account or changing your privacy settings is useless if your spouse/former partner has the password to your account and can help themselves to any information they want.

 4.  Delete potentially damaging information. Take down posts, pictures, etc. that could possibly be used against you.  Look through your “friends” and unfriend anyone that you don’t know or is in the same circle as your spouse/former partner. 

5.  Think before you post.  Before you post, comment, tag a picture, etc. think about what you are doing, and if this information could be potentially damaging to your family law case.  Avoid any posts about the family law matter, your spouse/former partner, and your children. 

 6. Be up front with your attorney. If you know that there is potentially damaging information on any of your social media accounts, share this information with your attorney so you and your attorney can create a plan on how to deal with this information. 

If you have questions regarding your family law matter contact one of the experienced family law attorneys at The Valentine Law Firm.