On behalf of Cooper & Tanis, P.C. posted in divorce on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.

A lot of people in Colorado use social media to talk about what they’re doing, what they’re buying and who they’re spending time with. When a person goes through a divorce, sharing this kind of information over the internet could be a mistake. A divorcing spouse may comb through their ex’s social media account to look for evidence that could be used in court.

Evidence obtained from Facebook posts, tweets, emails and text messages may all be admissible in family court. A divorcing person may be able to prevent online communications from becoming evidence in their divorce case by limiting their online activities to things that are absolutely necessary. If a person does not deactivate their social media accounts during the divorce process, they should at least make posts that do not contain information about spending habits or new significant others.

In addition to restricting online activities, a divorcing person may want to take some online security measures. Passwords for email and social media accounts should be changed so that a soon-to-be ex-spouse cannot gain access to private information. It is also a good idea for a divorcing spouse to set up a new email account to conduct their personal business. If a person still lives with their spouse, he or she should make sure that their internet devices are not automatically synced to their spouse’s ones.

Some online data is admissible in court and some isn’t. The way that data is obtained may also affect its admissibility in a divorce court proceeding. A divorcing spouse may want to speak to an attorney about emails and Facebook posts that they are concerned about. An attorney may be able to help a divorcing spouse prevent evidence that was illegally obtained from being used against him or her in court.