Statistics reveal that there are more than 3 billion users of social media this year. Basically, it has taken over people’s lives for the past years or so. Even companies and organizations use social media to promote their business and other endeavors. In other words, social media has somehow become an important part of our everyday lives.

Social media has also paved the way for improving the way we communicate. It has also been a great source of information and entertainment for users. More importantly, social media also keeps us updated with our friends and family, and vice versa.

However, divorce lawyers advise their clients undergoing a divorce to be extra careful when using their social media. Divorce can be a stressful and emotional event for a person whose marriage has already fallen apart. As a result, they may tend to vent out the emotions they won’t usually express in person. Little do they realize that such a simple status update can affect their ongoing divorce proceedings.

The potential effects of social media in an ongoing divorce

Even if you set your profile to private or deleted your soon-to-be-ex on your friend list, chances are your friends, family, and other common connections can still see your updates. The same goes when you post something about your ongoing divorce proceeding. In such cases, family lawyers would often advise their clients to be extra careful when using their social media accounts.

A lot of people do not realize it, but social media updates can serve as important evidence during divorce proceedings. In fact, statistics reveal that more than 80 percent of family lawyers use social media updates as evidence in court. This includes Facebook and Twitter status updates, Instagram posts, and DMs or direct messages among others.

Having said that, social media updates can prove to be a strong piece of evidence that can alter the decision of divorce proceedings. Even posting your purchases online, if you are not careful enough, can put you in hot water and turn the legal tables around. That is why the best divorce lawyers would often advise not to post a lot about your everyday life especially if you are undergoing a divorce.

Child custody and social media

Your social media activities can also affect your child custody case. For one thing, both spouses would have to convince the court that they are capable of taking care of the child. That is why it is important to hire experienced child support lawyers to help handle your case.

Again, your social media updates can also serve as evidence for child custody cases. The court may decide to award custody to the other parent if there are posts that can potentially endanger the child’s welfare and safety.

For example, posts about substance abuse or excessive drinking on a weekend with friends can be deemed irresponsible on your part as a custodial parent. As a result, the custody might be awarded to the other parent, a relative, or a trusted family friend.

Be wary of your social media activities

By now, you already have an idea of how social media can create a major impact on your divorce proceedings. For one thing, spousal support lawyers would normally advise their clients not to post anything that can question their financial capabilities. Otherwise, it can affect your alimony case and even up spending more in court than you think.

Social media updates can make or break your divorce case, so make sure to be wary of how you use it. Usually, lawyers would advise their clients not to use social media while their case is ongoing. Still, it’s up to you whether to heed their advice or make some adjustments to avoid legal problems in the future.

As mentioned, you need to be more careful about what you post online. These can be used as court evidence that can affect the court’s decision. If you must, you can also ask friends and family members not to post or comment on anything that can pertain to your ongoing divorce case. Better yet, go out with trusted family members and friends as part of your support system instead of posting updates online.

Conclusion

Social media can make or break you. Whatever you post can be used against you especially if you are not careful enough. In such cases, it is best to hire top-rated divorce lawyers in Fairfax VA to help you handle your divorce case and get the desired legal results that you want.