You may spend a few hours a day on social media catching up on what your friends or family are doing, but if you’re divorcing, it may be time to stop using your accounts, at least temporarily. However, although you should consider disabling your accounts or refraining from using your accounts, be sure to talk to your lawyer about how best to do this and to ensure that you do not inadvertently destroy evidence.
Social media accounts can be a minefield of information and the information on your social media account is discoverable. As such, whether you are going through a divorce, or anticipate going through a divorce, there are some basic rules of thumb that you should follow:
- Never use social media to disparage your spouse (or anyone for that matter)
In court, judges like to see people who are respectful of each other and who are willing to work together to come up with solutions. If you belittle your ex, particularly in a public forum or even to family and friends, this could hurt your case.
- Don’t post images that you wouldn’t want to have used against you
A night out drinking with friends? That might be fine, but not if your ex is trying to prove that you drink too much to be a good parent to your children. Saying your short on cash? That’s okay, but not if you are also posting images out at fancy dinners or traveling to fun and exotic places. Think carefully about what you post and how you could be perceived.
- Don’t allow others to tag you
Finally, don’t allow other people to tag you in embarrassing or inappropriate posts or photos. Although they may think it’s funny or a good memory, bringing up inappropriate topics in a public space where your spouse could copy that information is a bad idea.
These are three things to consider if you’re going to be on social media during your divorce. Whether your divorce is contested or uncontested, it’s really a better idea to stay offline than to risk issues caused by your social media posts.
