The typical mistake made while posting on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram will most likely not have severe consequences. At most, you might embarrass yourself or lose a few friends. Perhaps you manage to cause yourself future problems while looking for employment. However, the consequences of social media posts can be severe if you are going through a divorce that involves the court.
Should you make the following social media mistakes during your divorce, you could suffer unwelcome consequences.
- Defaming your ex-spouse: Posting negative content about your ex-spouse could you sued in some cases. If your ex-spouse could show that your comments were untrue, and that he or she suffered damages, an insult over social media could become costly.
- Posting content that makes you appear unfaithful: Some posts could be used to establish a narrative that you were not faithful to your ex-spouse. For instance, if you were active on dating sites or apps before divorcing your spouse, your activities could be used to make you appear unfaithful.
- Setting your profile to public: If your social media profiles use public settings, then anyone could see what you are posting, including your ex’s attorney. You could also reconsider sharing posts with mutual friends who may be sympathetic to your ex.
- Oversharing: In some cases, sharing too much information could come back to haunt your case. This could depend on what was shared and other details relevant to your divorce case.
- Making irresponsible posts or photos: Always assume that anything you post online could end up in court. It would be a bad idea to post photos of yourself drinking with friends, partying, or consistently checking into bars if you are in the middle of a heated child custody battle. Posts that show illegal activities would be especially harmful to your case.
- Threatening your ex-spouse: There could be far-reaching legal consequences for any threats you make towards your spouse on social media, especially for threats involving violence.
Practice Caution on Social Media During Your Divorce
It is best to practice caution on social media if you are going through a difficult divorce. Depending on the post and other factors, you could end up hurting the outcome of your divorce terms. For instance, you may receive less favorable child custody terms if posts were used to create a narrative that you are an irresponsible parent. Our experienced Lewisville divorce attorneys could help you develop a strategy for avoiding these and other mistakes.
