Tampa Divorce Attorney: Use Social Media Carefully During Divorce
May 1, 2012
Brandon, FL (Law Firm Newswire) April 30, 2012 – People going through a divorce have an instinct to open up with their friends and express their emotions and feelings about what is going on in their life. Divorce can feel alienating and people will feel a natural inclination to seek out opinions from friends that might agree with them.
This is when social media platforms like Facebook can be particularly dangerous during divorce proceedings. Speaking unkindly about a spouse on any social media can be brought up in court.
“Before a divorce and even during a divorce, the most important advice you can listen to is what your mom probably told you as soon as you could talk: ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all,’” said Tampa divorce attorney Joshua Law. “This is critical because even if you think something is a private message, it can always get into the wrong hands.”
Information from Facebook and Twitter both are increasingly being used in court proceedings as evidence – some estimates are as high as 20 percent.
“If there are no children involved or if there is no alimony involved, then the minute a divorce is final, then the divorcee can say whatever he or she likes,” Law said. But if there is alimony or child support or both involved, then it is simply unwise to invite a return to court if it is not necessary.”
Posts on Facebook or check-ins on Foursquare have been cited by the primary guardian during proceedings about the children as evidence that the other parent is partying too much or spending too much time on a different side of town.
It will always come down to what a judge thinks if the case has gone that far, but if there was nothing negative on the social platform to begin with, then there is nothing to be brought up during a hearing.
To learn more or to contact a Brandon family law attorney or a Brandon divorce attorney, visit http://www.brandonlawoffice.com.
Osenton Law Office, PA
500 Lithia Pinecrest Road
Brandon, Florida 33511
Call: (813) 654-5777
