Many people have social media accounts where they share personal information about their lives. Connecting with friends and family is one of the many the perks of social media accounts. Day to day issues are often discussed, such as job life, activities, and general opinions. However, when a person is going through a personal family law issue, it may be in their best interest to stay away from using social media to discuss some of their problems or to show what they are doing on their day to day.

Judge Use Social Media in Custody or Support Cases

A court can look at social media to determine important issues such as child custody, property division, and financial supports. Negative comments can influence the court to determine that one spouse may harm the children's relationship with the other spouse. Photos can be used to question one spouse's parenting skills or be used to challenge child support or alimony agreements. Tagged locations can provide further proof that a parent may not be where they claim they were or have a different financial situation than they claim.

Do the following to prevent a social media account from affecting a family law case:

• Stop using your Facebook, Twitter, etc. until a court case has been finalized
• Consider disabling the account to stop past posts from showing up in court cases
• Check privacy settings to make sure that the only people who can see posts are the ones that should
• Change passwords to prevent a former spouse from logging on and obtaining personal information
• Delete any posts or information that can be used negatively in a court case

The best advice for those with social media accounts during a difficult family law case is to think before posting to social media and be honest with an attorney about things that may have been said. Any actions made on the internet can come back to affect the outcome of a case. If in doubt, delete the account until the case has been completed or you may risk having your posts used against you.