As a parent, you’re probably always looking for ways to help your children become interested in activities that don’t involve screens or scrolling through social media. But you might not know that monitoring your own social media use may help you achieve a more favorable divorce settlement for both you and your kids.
It can be difficult to not post photos on your Facebook to share with long-distance family or to not rant to your digital connections to cope with the ups and downs you experience during the divorce process. However, it might be a better idea to find different avenues to chat with friends and family until your divorce is final. Because if your ex’s attorney does some digging, then your seemingly innocent posts may serve as evidence against you.
What kind of evidence does social media reveal?
When you seek a divorce, it’s likely you’ll need a little spousal support and a solid share of your marital assets to make ends meet as you transition from a one- to a two-income household. More importantly, you’ll want to have a fair share of custody. But if you are hinting that you have the means to take care of yourself with pictures of pricey meals out or lavish trips on Instagram, then the total amount of alimony or marital property you receive might be less than you expected. Posting text memos, photos, videos or memes related to drinking, partying or criminal or questionable behavior on your profile may also sway your case. A judge that reviews your posts might rule against 50/50 custody if they don’t like what they see.
What should I do to protect myself?
To try and preserve your hopes of what the end of your marriage will entail, you’ll want to review your entire social media footprint. List out all the profiles you have and make sure they are all set to private. From there you can decide if you want to be extra cautious with what you share on social sites, stay logged out or temporarily deactivate your accounts until your final court date. An experienced family law attorney can give you further recommendations based on your situation and help you achieve a fair settlement.