How Can Social Media Affect My Divorce?
Social media has not only become a regular part of our lives, but also a regular issue arising in Orlando Florida divorce cases for variety of reasons. Although most things that are shared on social media have no relevance in court, there are occasions when social media postings can have a significant impact on your family law case. Here, we will examine issues that make social media relevant to your divorce proceedings:
- Spousal Support: When determining whether to award spousal support, the court must first determine whether either party has a need for support. Parties are not entitled to alimony simply because the other spouse can afford it, but rather, it is awarded based on the other spouses needs. If a spouse is in opposition to the court awarding alimony/spousal support, he or she may want to review their ex-spouse’s social media accounts and perhaps obtain photographs or other information to show the court that the requesting spouse does not have a need for support. That evidence may be in the form of a photograph of you on the beach in Tahiti drinking mai tai’s while making paper airplanes with one-hundred-dollar bills, or it may be some other damaging evidence.
- Custody & Visitation: As we are all aware, social media tends to draw people to share photographs and other personal information about their lives with the world. However, in many cases, parents have posted or shared information that was later used against them in custody and visitation proceedings.
- Property & Assets: Oftentimes, there is a propensity for divorcing spouses to hide property and assets from being divided during the dissolution process. However, many spouses have been exposed for concealing community assets when they posted or shared something on their social media account that revealed the hidden property or asset.
- Sources of Income: In many cases involving issues of spousal or child support, there are instances when parties will undertake great efforts to reduce or conceal their income in order to reduce the amount of support that will be ordered. However, spouses have been found to have perjured themselves after it was discovered that they were running undisclosed online business or other income generating activities that the spouse advertised on their social media accounts.
- Character & Credibility: There are many instances in family law cases when a judge may weigh information or evidence to test or determine character or credibility, and it is certainly admissible to produce evidence from your social media account to persuade the court.
Contact Us Today For Assistance
The family law attorneys at Arwani Law Firm have been handling contested divorces and custody issues that involve complex assets, complicated parenting plans, and other family law issues for our clients in Orlando and surrounding areas. If you have any questions. Contact us today to find out about next steps.
Resource:
pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/