When you are facing divorce, you feel a wide range of emotions: relief, anger, frustration and uncertainty. At some point, you’ll probably want to feel support from your friends and family and may use social media as a way to express your feelings.
However, posting about your divorce on Facebook or Twitter can be a bad idea. In fact, social media posts negatively can impact your divorce settlement and child custody hearing. More than 80% of divorce attorneys report they have found evidence on social media that they can use in court. That means if you trash your ex in a Facebook or Twitter rant, your ex’s attorney could present what you wrote as evidence of how you feel. As a result, you could look like someone who isn’t interested in co-parenting well in your child custody hearing.
Other social media mistakes you could make during divorce include the following:
- Posting photos online that show you with a new vehicle or on an expensive vacation. These types of photos can make it appear that you really don’t need the assets or spousal support you are asking for.
- Posting photos of you drinking and partying with friends. In child custody hearings, the court wants to see what kind of parent you are to your children. If you give the impression that you party hard, getting drunk and staying out until all hours of the night, you won’t be seen as a responsible parent.
- You discuss details of your divorce negotiations or settlement on social media. You don’t want to negatively affect your case by seeming greedy, unreasonable or angry about splitting your assets fairly. You also really don’t want to reveal you may be hiding assets in your divorce, which is illegal.
- You don’t want to post photos of you with a new significant other before your divorce is settled. Again, if you are seeking child custody, your want to show that you are responsible and care about your children’s well-being. If you already are dating or living with someone knew, that can give the wrong impression.
While you may block your spouse as a friend or from seeing your posts, whatever you post still is likely to trickle back to your ex. You likely have friends in common who will share what you posted with your ex. You always should remember nothing you post on social media is truly private. That’s why deleting your social media accounts, or severely limiting your use of them, during divorce might be in your best interest.
