There is no question divorces can be extraordinarily difficult proceedings. The resentment, pain, and stress associated with ending a marriage can seem unbearable. For some, venting on social media is cathartic. If you are going through a divorce, though, you might want to avoid social media posts. As many Deerfield divorce lawyers will tell you, social media can ruin your divorce.
Evidence
You wouldn’t hastily or angrily write a document and then immediately file it with the court, would you? If you compose a quick tweet or Facebook post and broadcast it to your followers, you might in effect be doing the same thing. In Illinois, text messages, social media posts, and other published content are typically admissible in court as evidence.
Consequences
If you aren’t careful with the information you broadcast on social media, it might be used against you in a variety of ways. In your divorce proceedings, your spouse might use your posts to argue you have misstated certain events, hidden your assets, or otherwise behaved badly. Even worse, your posts might come up in a child custody hearing as evidence you are an unfit parent. If there is a silver lining, though, it is that social media posts cut both ways. Your Deerfield divorce lawyers can use your spouse’s posts or messages against him or her.
Benefits
While there can be an emotional benefit to posting on social media, there really isn’t usually much of a legal one. If you can, you might think about taking a break from social media during your divorce proceedings. If you absolutely must stay connected, perhaps you can consider only reading posts and not responding. Either way, you probably should avoid commenting on your spouse’s social media posts and consider unfollowing him or her.
No divorce is perfect, but social media could ruin yours. Don’t make the job harder for your Deerfield divorce lawyers by posting damaging things on social media.
