In recent years, social media sites have become part of our every day lives. People enjoy sharing their lives and keeping up with the lives of their friends and family regardless of how far apart they may be. Because of the widespread use of these social media sites, it should be no surprise to Utah residents that evidence from them is quickly becoming part of divorce proceedings across the country.
If you are going through a divorce, your attorney will most likely recommend that you refrain from using social media sites during the proceedings. A seemingly innocent post or rant about your spouse could end up in the hands of a judge. Furthermore, the old adage that a photograph is worth a 1,000 words takes on new meaning when it is posted on the Internet. This is because even though you may think your Facebook page, Twitter feed and Instagram accounts are not public, they are more accessible than you may know.
Every day, one social media site or another receives a subpoena from a family law lawyer looking to have access to someone’s account. For instance, if you are embroiled in a custody battle with your spouse and know that he or she recently attended a party involving alcohol or drugs, there may be evidence of it on social media. Obtaining posts and pictures and presenting them to the court could prove invaluable to your bid for sole custody.
This is just one example of how people use social media sites in Utah divorce cases. Others have proved affairs, cohabitation or that the other party did not fully disclose his or her financial situation to the court. You may think that your soon-to-be ex-spouse no longer has access to your social media sites, but simply unfriending him or her is not enough to keep your information private. Therefore, it is best just to take a vacation from it for the duration of the divorce and to ask your friends not to post any photos of you or posts about your current situation.
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