When spouses are going through a contentious divorce, they should strictly limit their activity on various types of social media and other electronic communication. All those communications may be used as evidence in court if the two cannot hammer out divorce agreements through collaborative proceedings or mediation. Family Attorneys in Clarendon Hills know how hazardous it can be for their clients who post inflammatory messages about the spouse and who are careless about having their compromising activities show up on social media.
Illegal Evidence
If the communication was acquired illegally, it cannot be used as evidence. Estranged spouses hacking into each other’s email may find incriminating messages verifying that an affair has been going on or that money is being siphoned out of a mutual account. They have to find a different way to prove this, however. Attorneys with a firm such as Dan Walker Law Office can provide counsel on legal ways to do so.
Inflammatory Messages
Separated spouses tend to get into trouble by actually sending inflammatory messages to each other. Those can be entered into evidence because the message appeared on the person’s Voicemail, text or email. In particular, making threats to the spouse will not be viewed kindly by a judge when the case reaches court.
Social Media
Social media is a different can of worms. Technically, the text and pictures have been made public. Even when a person’s privacy settings are set to a very secure mode, the information can be passed around. Posting pictures of a fun evening out drinking with the new paramour can result in one of the social media friends or connections downloading some of the photos. That person might upload these pictures elsewhere. This can be all it takes to risk losing a certain amount of credibility during divorce and child custody hearings.
Clients of Family Law Attorneys in Clarendon Hills might ask whether they should deactivate their social media accounts altogether while divorce proceedings are ongoing. This can be advisable before filing, but doing so amid proceedings will probably look like the person has something to hide.
