If you get divorced and you’re going through court, various types of evidence may be used. It’s important to know that the things that you post on social media can be submitted as evidence. You may have intended them to be seen only by friends or family members, but you’ve posted them on a public website and they can be used in court.
Understanding that this is possible is just the first step in the process, however. You may also find yourself asking why this would ever matter. Why did the things that you put online play a role in your divorce case?
Clues about the claims that you’ve made
Essentially, your social media posts are just clues that either back up or contradict the claims that you’ve made in court. If your ex believes that you are lying or being less than truthful, they may turn to social media to find evidence of that.
For instance, maybe you are claiming that you don’t have that many financial assets. Feeling surprised by how little money you say you have, your ex may bring in pictures of you on vacation or buying expensive products. Maybe you posted those at the time because you were just excited about it, but now your ex is going to try to use them to show that you must have more money or more assets than you are letting on.
Social media could also come up if there’s a dispute over how child custody should be divided. Maybe you’ve claimed to be the primary caretaker for the child, and so you believe that they should spend more time at your house than with your ex. But then your ex may bring in social media posts where you talked about going on long vacations or spending every night out with your friends, rather than at home with the kids. They could use this to show that you were not the primary caretaker so that they get more custody time.
Protecting your rights
These are just two ways that social media could impact your divorce, and they help to show you why most experts will say you shouldn’t even post at all while you’re splitting up. Rather than focusing on your online image, take the time to look at all of the legal options you have to protect your rights.