Bevirs Social Media & Family Law Expert

I have lost count of the number of times Facebook is referred to in divorce petitions or social media posts are stored and relied upon during Children Act and financial remedy proceedings.

Over sharing on social media may be your downfall when it comes to family law cases as photographs and posts can be held on to, by your ex, as a permanent reminder of historical misdemeanors. The courts have previously been presented with copy text messages and emails as evidence of conduct and are now used to seeing a screengrab of an offensive photograph or comment on social media and will accept this as evidence, if pertinent to your case.

Most importantly, it is an offence to identify children who are subject to court proceedings (unless the specific authority has been obtained from the court) and therefore, you must not publish details of your case online, no matter how upset or angry you may feel about the process or the outcome.

Consider this:  you emphatically deny to your spouse that you have bought a property or car or been on an expensive holiday, whilst boasting about your spending (plus a photo for good measure with you looking suitably proud) on social media.  Your spouse is bound to rely upon that within negotiations about the division of matrimonial assets, at the very least to show that you have been economic with the truth!

Uploading photographs and sharing details of frivolous expenditure will not help you when you pursue an argument concerning a lack of resources and will instead assist your aggrieved spouse.

Criticising your ex-partner online creates a permanent record that could later be referred to as evidence of poor parenting, as could photographs or updates about drinking to excess/drunken exploits or recreational drug use. 

Family breakdown is an extremely upsetting and stressful time and an outlet will be needed but be warned that such an outlet should be in private.  Consider not only the legal consequences which could be far ranging but also the impact upon your children who may one day see the record of the public fall-out between their parents.

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