Monitoring Those Status Updates
If you are considering filing for a divorce, one of the items on your checklist should be monitoring what you post on your social networking sites. What may seem like a perfectly innocent posting on your Facebook status may show up as admitted evidence used against you in a divorce case.
According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), over 80% of the top family law attorneys in the country report an increase in the number of cases utilizing evidence taken off of social network sites. Facebook was named the number one source by 66% of those attorneys surveyed, followed by Myspace and Twitter.
Lawyers have been using emails and text messages as evidence for several years. Social networking sites, although a fairly new tool, are quickly proving to be just as effective. Maybe more so, as people post more and more information about their private and personal lives on a very public forum. Photographs posted online are also proving to be a boon for couples involved in divorce proceedings. And the photos do not have to be posted on your site. Attorneys also check out the sites of friends, family members and other colleagues in their search for “damning evidence”.
It’s not just infidelity that attorneys look for when scouring Facebook, et al. If one party is claiming to have no money, they may have a hard time explaining to the court all the posted photos of trips taken, events attended and other material possessions purchased. Evidence about behavior affecting custody issues can also be taken from status updates.
The possibility of having your social networking sites content used against you is only one of many reasons why you need an experienced family law attorney in Geneva, Illinois to represent you in a divorce case. Contact a qualified Geneva, IL divorce lawyer today.
