In this age of high tech gadgetry, smartphones and WIFI on every corner, people are using social media to connect with old friends and post pictures of their kids. Social media can also help you if you are having issues during a divorce or even if your spouse wants to change some of the agreement years later. How can being connected to the world help in this case? It's all in what is posted.
What if They Say They Can't Afford to Pay?
One example of how social media might be able to help you is, say your ex-spouse has been paying child support for years and suddenly has opted to return to court to get those payments reduced. They might say they can no longer afford the cost and are appealing for a payment plan they can afford.
If by chance you still have your ex-spouse on a social media platform, or know someone who does, it may be possible to see what they are posting. It could be they have posted pictures of a brand new car, new home or even commented they are taking a vacation somewhere tropical. These images can be used to prove that your ex-spouse can afford to make the payments and simply wants to pay less.
Custody or Visitation Cases
Another example of where checking a social media account might well be worth your time is in the case of custody battles. If you would like to have greater control over how often your ex-spouse has custody or visits, then a lawyer can see if they are posting any images of what they are doing when they have the children in their custody.
For example, if the parent wanted to skip visitation due to a personal issue or pass on their time with the kids and your lawyer finds pictures of them partying, it will work in your favor to either keep the visits the same, reduce them or even have full custody awarded to you.
Lawyers have begun searching social media sites of their clients' exes and have used that information to help their client's cases in court. It is not only the spouse's accounts that can looked over; in fact, lawyers may look through their client's social media accounts too and in some cases may ask them to deactivate them.
Your divorce lawyer can also give you tips on how to react to court appearances online and how to deal with items you may not want to see posted by your ex.
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