A recent survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) reveals that 81% of the country’s top divorce attorneys have seen an increase in the number of cases using social networking evidence over the last five year. Facebook is the primary social networking evidence according to 66% of those surveyed. Divorce-online.co.uk found that 20% of divorce papers filed in the United States cited the word “Facebook” as a reason for filing for divorce.
These statistics are not at all surprising. The advent of social networking has certainly made it easier to cheat. However, social networking websites like Facebook have made it so much easier to get caught! Facebook has enabled people to reignite former flames or easily connect with someone new, making infidelity as easy as a click of the mouse. But when someone discovers their spouse’s inappropriate chats, messages, wall posts and pokes, these infidelities may very well lead a scorned spouse to file for divorce.
And even if Facebook is not the cause of divorce, it can still serve as useful evidence in divorce proceedings. Whether it comes in the form of status update or a new photo album, individuals normally will not think twice about publicly posting information about their personal lives for all to see on Facebook. For divorcing parties, these public streams of consciousness can make or break a divorce proceeding.
For instance, perhaps you are seeking to avoid or reduce an alimony obligation by stating you are recently unemployed due to the current decline in the nation’s economy. That argument may fall flat on its face when your spouse uncovers pictures of you and your new paramour on vacation at a five-star resort in the Caribbean. Or, perhaps you are seeking custody of your children and trying to overcome allegations about a drinking problem. But, your drinking buddy posted on your wall about your recent weekend bender. Are you denying the allegations of adultery that your spouse cited in her complaint for divorce? Well, when you gave her your Facebook password, she printed out an entire message exchange between you and your lover describing in great detail all of your adulterous escapades.
You might think you are safe if you “de-friended” your spouse. But, likely if you were married, you have mutual friends who may have more loyalty to your spouse than to you. And certainly Facebook has ample privacy settings available so that some information is only accessible to individuals you approve. But, there is no guarantee that someone else who posts questionable pictures of you will maintain the level of privacy you would like meaning that all of their “friends” can see any pictures of you. And in the tangled web of social networking, that person’s friend may very well be your spouse.
For divorcing parties, a simple post or poke can come back to haunt you. In the realm of social networking, posts are only as private as a divorce lawyer will let them be. There is truly no way to eliminate the possibility of Facebook evidence being used against you as you may end up in a friend’s photo that your spouse may have access to. The only way to minimize the risk of your own Facebook account to become evidence against you in a divorce proceeding is to steer clear of it and deactivate your account.
Edward R. Weinstein, Esq. is an attorney in East Brunswick, New Jersey specializing in all areas of matrimonial and family law including divorce, annulment, child custody, child support, alimony, equitable distribution, domestic violence, pre-nuptial agreements, adoptions and civil unions. He has been appointed to the Assignment Judge’s Family Law Committee, as a Member on the Early Settlement Panel with the Superior Court of New Jersey, and as a Member of the Supreme Court of New Jersey District Ethics Committee. The author wishes to thank Megha R. Thakkar, Esq. for her assistance in the research and writing of this article.
For more information about Mr. Weinstein, please visit www.weinsteinlawoffice.com or become a fan of New Jersey Divorce Lawyer on Facebook.
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