Forgot to de-friend your wife on
Facebook while posting vacation shots of your mistress? Her divorce lawyer will
be thrilled.
Oversharing on social networks has led to an
overabundance of evidence in divorce cases. The American Academy of Matrimonial
Lawyers says 81% of its members have used or faced evidence plucked from
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking sites, including YouTube
and LinkedIn, over the last five years.
"Oh, I've had some fun
ones," said Linda Lea Viken, president-elect of the 1,600-member group. "It's
very, very common in my new cases," she adds.
Facebook is the
unrivaled leader for turning virtual reality into real-life divorce drama, Viken
said. Sixty-six per cent of the lawyers surveyed cited Facebook foibles as the
source of online evidence, she said. MySpace followed with 15%, followed by
Twitter at 5%.
About one in five adults uses Facebook for flirting,
according to a 2008 report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. But
it's not just kissy pix with the manstress or mistress that show up as evidence.
Think of Dad forcing son to de-friend mom, bolstering her alienation of
affection claim against him.
Divorce attorneys spoke in broad terms
about some of the goofs they've encountered:
— Husband goes on
Match.com and declares his single, childless status while seeking primary
custody of said nonexistent children.
— Mom denies in court that she
smokes marijuana but posts partying, pot-smoking photos of herself on
Facebook.
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