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With the advent of social networking sites, your personal life is laid bare in the public domain. Social media users be wary. Whatever you post in these social media forums can be used in a family court as evidence against you, especially in divorce cases and alimony and child support cases. This article looks at how family lawyers are turning to the trail of proof left online in family law cases.

Social media trend

Many people are using social media as a channel for communication with friends and loved ones. It's convenient, especially in the current digital age. However, the wealth of personal information in the social media forums can serve as a haven for lawyers in proving fault grounds for divorce. Tags, statuses and pictures can all reveal an individual's state of mind, evidence of times and locations that events happened, proof of communication and actions.

How social networking sites can be a source of evidence in family law cases

In divorce cases, the divorce lawyer of the spouse seeking a divorce because of an extramarital affair can provide proof of infidelity in the form of incriminating photos gathered from the defendant's social media account. Family courts can order divorce parties to turn over their usernames, password and login details for social media forums. The evidence gathered here can be used to either incriminate or vindicate the accused person.

Take the case of a spouse who is seeking divorce based on allegations of domestic violence. Through their divorce attorney, the claimant can use the status posted by the other spouse on their social media account declaring their intention to physically assault or hurl abuses at the claimant.

In terms of finances, social networking sites can destroy a person's opportunity to save money. Divorcing parties don't realize that when they upload photos of their brand new vehicles, luxury holiday vacations and expensive dinners. Family law attorneys can use these photos as evidence against a particular individual when they argue that they are not able to pay spousal or child support in a family law case. Additionally, professional job network sites also open up details on a divorcing party's salary, bonuses and other work information. This information may be used against an individual trying to get out of certain payments in family law cases.

In conclusion, your social media account is a reflection of your personal life. Thus, be wary of the chats you have, the statuses you post or the photos you upload or otherwise they may be used as evidence against you in a family court.