If you are planning on getting a divorce in the near future, now may be the time to start strategizing everything from when to see a divorce attorney, to when to tell your spouse, to monitoring how you spend the marital assets, to what you say and do on social media.
Social media use has exploded in the last decade to the point where it plays a significant role in our daily lives. On Nov. 22, 2016, Small Business Trends published an article titled, “Social Media Statistics 2016.” Here are some highlights from the article:
- 97 percent of adults age 16 to 64 who use the Internet, visited or used a social network within the previous month.
- On average, Internet users have 7 social media accounts.
- 56 percent of adults who use the Internet use more than one of the following social media accounts: Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
- On average, digital consumers spend 1 hour and 58 minutes engaging daily on social media.
- As of 2016, Facebook was the most popular social network (84 percent).
Are you on social media? Do you have a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account? It is extremely important that spouses or parents engaged or about to be engaged in family law litigation are cautious about what they post.
These days, many divorce attorneys turn to social media seeking information about a client’s spouse. For example, if a husband is trying to convince the judge that he cannot afford spousal support, but he posts pictures of his recent vacation to Hawaii on Facebook and Instagram, or if he posts pictures of the 1960s-model muscle car of his dreams, and his wife’s divorce attorney sees the pictures, they may be used against him in court.
On the other hand, if a soon-to-be divorced wife and mother is fighting for custody of her children, yet she posts pictures all over social media of her drinking and partying, this will likely not sit well with the judge, and the images can hurt her child custody case.
Our Conclusion About Social Media
While divorcing, all eyes are on you. You may want to think twice before you post something on social media, whether it’s a rant about your divorce, your spouse’s divorce lawyer, or the judge, or pictures of you spending money or engaging in , take a step back and ask yourself, “How would this look to the judge?” Our conclusion: If a post could look bad to the judge on your divorce case, you are better off playing it safe and not posting it to social media.
Hunt Law Firm, PLLC provides representation throughout Greater Houston and Katy. Call (832) 781-0320 todayto schedule a consultation.