A father posts a picture on Instagram of himself next to a big pile of beer cans at the pool in summer. His child sits next to him in the photo. The father agreed in writing to not drink in front of the child.
A mother rants and raves about what a bum her ex-husband is on Facebook. The kids participate in social media – as do their friends. Both parents are prohibited from saying bad things about the other parent. And, yes, this includes online, not just in person.
Attorneys often review social media sites, looking for information that is helpful for their case. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. The list goes on and on. These kinds of posts help their cases. Both of these parents will get in trouble when the judge finds out about these posts. And they will.
Parties need to be very careful what they post on social media while a divorce or custody matter is ongoing, and should remain careful after court is over, especially if there are children involved.
The absolute most cautious advice is for you to stay off social media altogether. If you stay off social media, you do not have to worry about your comments or posts being misinterpreted. Or interpreted exactly as you intended!
If you do make posts, stop and think first how you would feel if the other party posted something similar to what you are considering. It doesn’t hurt to run a post by a friend to ensure it is appropriate. You can also confer with your attorney about a specific post.
Finally, consider modifying the privacy settings to limit who can see your posts.
