While many of us in Texas have never thought that Facebook and other social media sites would be a source of contention for a divorce proceeding, as those social centers grow in popularity, they expand the legal complexities associated with these difficult relationships. Solving the dilemma is also not as easy as ‘de-friending’ or ‘blocking’ somebody either.
A new development in divorce and child custody proceedings is coming out of these new social media relationship enhancing expansions. Couples are now starting to consider how to best manage their relationships to each other as well as how their children are mentioned and displayed on these sites as part of their custody agreements.
Parties to divorce and custody cases are also now using previous posts to sites ranging from Facebook to Match.com as evidence for the other party’s fitness as a parent. Therefore, it is important to remember that any online source is essentially a permanent record, traceable even after deletion most often.
If in the middle of a contentious divorce or custody battle, please do not post negative comments towards your ex or start posting pictures of your children against their wishes as a means of retribution. These actions may only lead to worse consequences and cause more lasting detrimental damage to that relationship as well as to that which you have with your children.
Should you need assistance with your divorce or custody proceedings, please contact a family law attorney and discuss your situation in detail with them. They will be able to best assess your legal options and which action s are most appropriate given your particular circumstances.
Source: stltoday.com, “Who gets custody of the Facebook profile info after a divorce?,” Aisha Sultan, Dec. 31, 2012