For many people, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and the rest of social media present the perfect place to vent their anger, despair, guilt, frustration, devastation, and a mix of other hard feelings, during a divorce.
But these people learn it the hard way: oversharing and being outspoken about one’s divorce on social media can significantly hurt your divorce case. There are certain things you may want to keep out of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at all costs.
And today, we invited our Salt Lake City divorce attorney Emy A. Cordano for a chat. It is time to, once and for all, outline the five social media mistakes every divorcing couple needs to avoid to stay out of trouble.
Writing mean-spirited comments and statuses
I know how tempting it can be to badmouth your soon-to-be ex-spouse, especially if he or she deserves it, but writing mean-spirited comments and statuses on social media is super unnecessary (and immature). Not only can it ignite more tensions between you and your spouse, but will also put your family and friends in an uncomfortable position of having to pick sides. “In fact, if you and your spouse have children, you wouldn’t want them to see these nasty comments about their parent, would you?” asks our experienced divorce attorney in Salt Lake City.
Oversharing
If you are getting divorced, it can be quite difficult to keep your feelings and thoughts to yourself. You want the entire world to know how it feels, which – for many people – often means sharing lots of intimate information with strangers. Anything you post on social media is up for grabs, which means anyone can access it, including not only your spouse but also his/her divorce lawyer or even the judge who will be handling your case.
Stalking (or anything that looks like it)
During a divorce, many people fall into the trap of obsessing over their spouse and even snooping or spying on their former flame. To tell you the truth, stalking your soon-to-be former spouse is never a good idea. So make sure you do not like or comment on everything your spouse posts on social media.
Bragging about your new life
For many people, getting divorced means regaining the freedom and excitement in their private lives. But when you brag about how awesome your life is without your ex, it may hurt your divorce case and/or make your ex mad at you more than he or she already is (which, needless to say, may make him or her not cooperative on such matters as property division, child custody, and child support, among other things).
Posting incriminating things
If you choose to post something on social media, you are walking through a minefield, because all eyes will be on your social media posts (and by all we mean the eyes of your ex and his/her lawyer). “You may be surprised how many times people failed to get a favorable child support or child custody decision because they posted something incriminating on their social media during divorce,” says our Salt Lake City divorce attorney.
Thus, if you are trying to obtain full custody of your child, posting photos of yourself wasted at a bar at 3 am is probably not the smartest decision during a divorce. Or, if you are trying to prove in court that you do not have enough money to pay child support or alimony, posting photos of your lavish lifestyle (shopping, traveling, hanging out on a yacht, or doing anything that indicates you have plenty of money) is not the best decision either.
So yeah, the outcome of your divorce case can be affected by what you post on social media and how you behave on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter during a divorce. Get a legal consultation about the do’s and don’ts during divorce by calling Emy A. Cordano at (801) 901-8159.