If you are like most New Yorkers, you probably spend a good deal of time on Facebook and other social media platforms keeping up with your family and friends. If, however, a divorce looms in your future, now would be a good time to limit what you post online. Why? Because your posts could come back to haunt you in court.
Unfortunately, you do not have as much privacy on social media as you think. No matter how carefully you set your privacy settings, many more people can access your information than simply your friends and family. It may shock you to learn that as far back as 2010, two-thirds of divorce attorneys admitted that Facebook represented their best source to discover damaging evidence against their clients’ spouses.
What not to post
Once you begin thinking about divorce, your best interests dictate that you refrain from posting any of the following on social media:
- Photos or text about your new potential romance(s)
- Photos or text about your purchases, especially major purchases
- Photos or text about the new place you will live
- Photos or text about where you go socially and with whom
- Photos in which you and/or others strike suggestive or explicit sexual poses
You may also wish to review recent posts you have put on your Facebook page and other social media profiles and delete the ones that contain information your spouse could use against you in court.
Admittedly, if you have become “addicted” to Facebook, et al., you likely will find it impossible to completely stay off social media during your divorce. So try for a “less is more” approach. Remember, what you do not share on social media cannot hurt you later.
