How Social Media Plays a Role in Your Florida Divorce

Nearly everyone you meet utilizes some form of social media, making it pretty easy to find out private details of someone else’s life. Some people keep their profiles extremely private, while others post about every minute detail of their daily life. No matter how you utilize social media, it’s important to understand how it can affect you during a divorce.

In recent years, social media has become a beloved tool for both plaintiff and defense attorneys to use against the other side. Whether it’s a personal injury or car accident claim, or a heated custody battle of a child. Here are some of the ways social media can impact your Florida divorce.

Potential Hidden Assets

Do you believe your spouse is hiding money or assets? Their social media habits upon separation might shed some light on where to start looking. Is your ex all of a sudden frequenting a certain international destination over and over? Is he or she suddenly engaging in lavish spending habits? Photos posted on social media can be used during a divorce to probe further on where marital assets have been going.

Show Infidelity

Adultery itself plays a very minimal role in divorce because Florida is a “no-fault” divorce state. However, if the unfaithful spouse is using marital funds or assets in this new relationship, a court may be interested in their behavior. Also, adultery can impact alimony and custody decisions. If there is something that could be construed as infidelity on social media, the other side will be interested in using it.

Parenting Skills Can Be Called into Question

If you do have a child, your social media activity can be used to show whether you’re fit to be a parent or not. If you are out partying a lot, your ex could say you aren’t responsible enough to have custody of the child. Even something that seems innocent at the time can be twisted and used against you. Remember, the court only sees a snapshot in time, not the context of the photo. Also, if you are the custodial parent during the divorce, expect the other side to be watching your child’s social media posts too. If he or she is posting inappropriate content, your ex may use that to show that you already can’t parent now, so why should you be granted full custody?

Things to Remember with Divorce and Social Media

Don’t be quick to run out and delete everything on your social media channels, as the other side may say you purposely deleted “evidence.” What you should do is ensure your privacy settings are strict and refrain from using social media during the divorce if possible. Remember, you also probably have shared friends with your ex, so even if you limit all your posts to “friends only,” someone still might have the ability to take a screenshot and send it to your spouse.

Lastly, be sure to change all your passwords. If your ex knows your typical passwords or had access to your accounts, it’s important to start fresh and create new passwords that he or she would never guess.

Retaining a Florida Divorce Attorney

Utilizing the services of a skilled Florida family law attorney can make a difference for a variety of family law matters. The attorneys at Schwartz | White can help with asset distribution, child custody matters, and spousal support negotiation. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation and let one of our experienced lawyers answer all your questions about social media and divorce.