I’ve previously blogged about how various social mediums, Facebook in particular, can dramatically affect your marriage and your divorce. As I advise all my clients, we live in a very public world these days, the internet has opened windows into peoples’ lives; privacy is scarce. What you post online while alone at your computer is a message for the entire world to read.

A wife in New York was recently reminded of this. The wife was seeking permanent alimony from her husband due a disability which prevented her from working. Her claim was quickly rejected when her husband was able to introduce evidence of her being paid to belly dance. How did the husband find out? The wife was blogging about it on the internet. Even worse, when asked by a friend on Facebook why she wasn’t posting pictures of herself dancing, the wife replied, “Gotta be careful what goes online, pookies. The ex would love to fry me with that.” 

And fried she was. The Court substantially slashed her alimony award, both in amount and duration, and awarded husband legal fees for wife’s tactics.

Lessons?
If you or someone you know is going through the divorce process, be sure to consult with an attorney experienced in the role social media plays in divorce cases. With the various number of social media outlets available to almost anyone these days, it’s crucial to your case that you have someone on your side who will ensure that your rights, interests and privacy is protected.