Did you know that evidence from email or social media sites can be used in court? In the modern day, people are constantly online, posting pictures and interacting with one another. As you go through a divorce, remember that everything you say and do is potential evidence. Below are a few examples:
Custody
Pictures are often used in child custody cases to show what type of parent a person is. If the pictures show activities that are dangerous to children or show that the parent is not responsible, a judge may rule that the parent can’t have custody of the kids.
Income Levels
You can often link your social media sites to your employer. People will also post online about what they do for a living. For example, one person was trying to get alimony and claimed to be unemployed, but comments about having a job had been made on social media, so the alimony claim was denied.
Child Support
Other postings can also be used to show how much disposable income a person has. For example, if someone says he or she shouldn’t pay as much child support as the court has ordered because it’s not affordable, but then that person posts photos on Instagram of new cars and trips to Europe, the court may say that the child support payments are clearly affordable and should be upheld.
These are just three examples, but it’s critical to remember that different social media sites can provide all manner of evidence in Texas. Be careful about what you post and make sure you know the legal ramifications of everything that you do online.
Source: The Huffington Post, “A Look at How Social Media is Impacting Divorce Cases,” William Morrow, June 23, 2016