How Do Family Law Attorneys Use Social Media For Evidence?

May 7th, 2012

It’s not all fun and games when it comes to tweeting and pinning. Using social media has legal implications – especially if you’re going through a messy divorce.

Family law attorneys have found social media to offer a wealth of information on adulterous spouses and lying exes. Here’s how social media evidence can make or break a divorce case. This infographic comes to us from Southern California law firm Dishon & Block, and explores the many legal precedents already set when it comes to social media.

Divorce lawyers have access to your tweets, your status updates and your pins, and your social actions speak louder than you know. Each of your profiles could reveal:

• Your state of mind
• Proof of communication
• Proof of time and place
• Evidence of actions

And there have been several divorce cases when someone’s been burned because of their need to share.

For instance, a woman claimed that she needed $850 a month alimony from her ex, because she suffered a debilitating accident during their marriage. However, evidence pulled from her MySpace and Facebook profiles showed her to be a regular belly dancer – and the alimony was denied.

The infographic explores how certain cases like the one above have led to legal definitions of what one can expect on Facebook or other social networks. On Facebook, for example, one cannot reasonably expect privacy, so you’d better not post anything you might want to keep hidden from your soon-to-be-ex if you’re in the middle of a divorce.

You can check out the full infographic below for the legal implications of using social media during a divorce: