Cases have been filed again and again thanks to Facebook pictures.
Most men have been forgetting to de-friend their wives and are posting pictures of them together with their new mistresses.
According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 81 percent of its members have had their evidence taken from Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and other social networking sites. Not only that there are also videos from YouTube.
Linda Lea Viken the president of the 1,600-member group was quoted “Oh, I’ve had some fun ones,” saying that it is very common in the new cases she is handling.
“This sort of evidence has gone from nothing to a large percentage of my cases coming in, and it’s pretty darn easy,” According to Viken. “It’s like, Are you kidding me?”
Among all the social websites, Facebook is the unrivaled leader for turning the virtual drama among couples to real-life divorce drama.
The boundaries between real-life and online are tearing up couples in the United States.
Ken and Leslie Matthews, a husband and wife divorce attorney team in Denver, Colo. claims that they are not as fortunate in getting cases involving such evidences. They estimated around 1 in 10 of the cases they handled. Nevertheless, it’s a powerful evidence to plunk down the judge.
“People are just blabbing things all over Facebook. People don’t yet quite connect what they’re saying in their divorce cases is completely different from what they’re saying on Facebook. It doesn’t even occur to them that they’d be found out,” says Leslie Matthews.
Social networks are great in venting out what you feel, however, “It’s all pretty good evidence,” according to Viken. “You can’t really fake a page off of Facebook. The judges don’t really have any problems letting it in.”
Here are tips attorneys have to offer to ensure your online life does not end up in a divorce court.
First, if you plan to lie under oath, be careful on what you post. Especially when it’s contradicting to what you are saying.
“We tell our clients when they come in, ‘I want to see your Facebook page. I want you to remember that the judge can read that stuff so never write anything you don’t want the judge to hear,’” Viken said.
Another is, having your friends to lean on and release some steam might be a good idea but you can never know which side they may be taking.
“They think these people can help get them through it,” said Marlene Eskind Moses, a family law expert in Nashville, Tenn., and current president of the elite academy of divorce attorneys. “It’s the worst possible time to share your feelings online.”
Next, during this stage of the divorce it would be best not to be seen in any photo especially if it’s the opposite sex. Ken Matthews recalls photos of a client’s partially naked estranged wife alongside pictures of their kids on Facebook.
“He was hearing bizarre stories from his kids. Guys around the house all the time. Men running in and out. And there were these pictures,” Matthews said.
Remember, there are privacy settings in these social websites and it would be a good time to put them to good use.
Viken tells a story of a client accused her spouse of adultery and he denied it in court. “The guy testified he didn’t have a relationship with this woman. They were just friends. The girlfriend hadn’t put security on her page and there they were. ‘Gee judge, who lied to you?’”
