Social Media, Divorce and Inappropriate Marital Conduct

Divorce. It can be one of the emotionally painful experiences in one’s life. The urge to show your soon-to-be former spouse that you are “moving on” with a new love and out on the town instead of waiting at home for her or him to return can be quite powerful. Almost irresistible. Resist!

divorce cake FacebookAs an attorney, I guide my clients not to publish their “moving on” moments on facebook or other social media and just keep it off social media period.  Maybe your spouse may feel jealous of your latest loves after seeing you online going out night after night in downtown Nashville. Maybe not. But, your shared moments are well-documenting what the court would likely see as Inappropriate Marital Conduct – which is grounds for divorce in Tennessee. In other words, you are building a substantial case against yourself, selfie by selfie, all without your spouse or his/her attorney lifting a finger, other than saving the pictures to be used at trial.  And, even if you delete content in a dramatic effort to clean up your social media history, it is still discoverable.  Even deleted, once posted, it never actually goes away.  People have long memories.  The internet’s is longer, as in forever.

To read more on the impact of social media on divorce please click here.

Divorce is difficult enough without making it harder on yourself. Keep your social media clean and consistent with your position in the divorce. In the end, your attorney will be glad you did, and so will you.

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