Social Media Use and Your Illinois Divorce

 Posted on November 08, 2016 in Divorce

As social media use becoming nearly ubiquitous in this day and age, it is wise for parties going through a divorce or who are subject to a final divorce decree to evaluate their social media use with an eye towards understanding how social media conduct may be viewed by the court. Your experienced family law attorney in DuPage County can discuss with you guidelines for handling social media appropriately.

Avoid Posts That Could Affect Your Divorce or Parenting Case

Refrain from posting anything on social media that could be used against you in your divorce case or parenting dispute. Some of the types of posts that can potentially get parties into trouble throughout the process include:

• Threatening or violent posts;
• Anything suggesting criminal involvement, such as drug use;
• Inappropriate material;
• Comments or photos about finances, assets, or recent purchases;
• Anything that contradicts statements made to the court;
• Harassing or cyber-stalking the other party online; and
• Insulting or making desultory comments about the other party online.

Addressing Social Media Concerns with Your Illinois Divorce Attorney

When it comes to social media disputes between ex-partners who are co-parenting, prevention is key. Reaching a social media use agreement with an ex-spouse or partner during mediation or negotiation is becoming increasingly common. Some of the concerns parents may wish to discuss with their divorce attorney or to have addressed during negotiations or with the court include:

• Who may post pictures of the children on social media sites? What about the social media accounts belonging to current or future girlfriends and boyfriends, grandparents, and other extended family members?
• What social media sites are appropriate to incorporate posts about or pictures of the children? If posts with the children's photos on popular social networking sites are permitted, what about dating profiles or less mainstream types of social media?
• Will privacy settings be enabled on social media sites and apps? Is it acceptable to post photos of the children in forums that are entirely public?
• Will the parties agree to refrain from disparaging each other on social media?
• Will the children themselves be active on social media and if so, which sites are appropriate and how much parental supervision is required? At what age is social media use permissible?
• How will social media and cyber-bullying be handled if it occurs?
• If parties shared a social networking account prior to divorce or break up, who retains access to the account and its content? Will the account be removed entirely?

Consulting Experience Divorce and Family Law Attorney in DuPage County

Most social media matters are not addressed by Illinois law, and thus represent a grey area for parties navigating social media during or post-divorce. Having an agreement in place can give parties guidelines to rely upon when disputes inevitably occur.

Your passionate DuPage County family law attorney is experienced dealing with these emotionally charged disputes and can help your family in crafting a workable social media policy for co-parents. Do not hesitate to reach out to us today for help.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jefflanders/2013/08/20/how-social-media-can-affect-your-divorce/