4 Reasons To Cool It On Social Media During Divorce

If you are getting a divorce, it may be tempting to post updates about the situation you are in, your feelings about your soon-to-be ex, or about your new lifestyle, on social media sites. There are a number of things you should refrain from doing to avoid causing additional problems for all concerned, including yourself.

1. Your children may end up reading something you posted about your ex.

If you have children, they could end up accessing things you have posted about your soon-to-be ex. You may feel it is just venting, but it could be damaging to your kids for the same reasons that hearing you talk negatively about him/her to your friends would be, but even worse. Whereas you might be talking privately at home or out with a few of your intimate friends, what you post online could be spread to hundreds or even thousands of people easily, depending on how many friends you have plus whether the post is shared or commented on by others.

2. You don't want to be vulnerable to a libel suit or harm your chances of getting custody/visitation.

Negative posts about your ex could also be considered slanderous/ libelous and leave you open for a civil suit if your ex can prove the things you said were not true.

If your online behavior towards your spouse and/or your children indicates that you are being verbally or emotionally abusive, or is threatening, you also could be opening yourself up for a restraining order, and it certainly could cause your options for custody or visitation to be curtailed.

3. Things you post about a new relationship could hurt your ex or your children.

If you are in a new relationship before the divorce is final, writing posts or posting pictures about it could be very upsetting to your children. If you want to maintain a good relationship with them, it would be better to ease into telling them about the new person.

Seeing constant reminders about this new relationship could be very hurtful to your ex. After the dust settles down, you may feel some serious conscience pangs and embarrassment for being inadvertently or overtly cruel to that person. It could harm your relationships with mutual friends and people that you do business with or know in your community could loose respect for you. Even if your ex has un-friended you or you have un-friended them, they could see your posts when friends/family comment on or share them.

This careless posting could also affect your ex's attitude about settling peacefully in regards the division of the assets, child custody, and more. If these posts end up in court, they could affect the judge's decisions about these things as well.

4. Anything related to your new lifestyle could cause you legal problems.

If you say you can't afford a certain figure for alimony or child support or to pay down debt, etc, and then you post about expensive activities you are engaged in, this could make you look dishonest in the eyes of the court. Make no mistake, these posts will be scrutinized for inconsistencies. Posts by your friends and family on their social media accounts could also find their way into court.

 You should make sure your financial statements about income, assets, and debts are accurate because you can get into legal trouble if they aren't and again, you won't win any sympathy with the divorce court judge if there is any indication that that you have been lying, hiding or unlawfully transferring assets to others.

 Appropriate Legal advice is necessary to protect yourself and your family's interests in divorce.

If you are about to divorce or in the midst of one, you will want to consult a family law attorney like Deborah L Kenney Attorney At Law for relevant advice on your specific situation.