In this day and age, it is very unusual to find people of any age in and around Arlington that do not have some type of social media presence. This could be a Facebook account where they keep track of friends and family, or an Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Snapchat account they use regularly or infrequently.
Social Media in Court
One of the emerging issues in family court is the ability to capture posts on any type of social media platform and have that information or post be used against a person in family court. This is true for child custody cases, as well as for divorces where the spouses have no children. Social media posts are increasingly used in modification cases and in attempts to have parental rights terminated.
Social media posts can also be used to add to the case to request supervised visitation of the child or children. Family lawyers routinely work with clients offering social media pictures of the other parent engaged in unsafe practices with or without the children in attendance. When these issues include the use of alcohol, drugs, or issues with the other individuals in the picture, it has an impact on the court.
There is No Such Thing as Private
The first tip from family lawyers is to assume that anything posted on social media will be seen by the other person or his or her friends and family. Even with private profiles, friends may share a screenshot of the post, or a computer may be left open for someone else in the household or area to see.
When going through separation and divorce, family lawyers typically advise clients to avoid the sharing of any information about the divorce, the relationship, or any conversations or legal matters between the couple.
This does not mean that people in Arlington cannot enjoy connecting with friends and family through their favorite social media platforms. It just means keeping posts, tweets, and comments to issues outside of the divorce, the parenting of the children, or any negative comments about the other spouse.
For those using social media, talking to family lawyers about guidelines on what to post and what not to post can prevent issues during the divorce and in the future.
At Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, LLP, we provide legal advice from experienced child custody attorneys in Arlington.
