How Technology Can Affect a Divorce Case

Divorce has been always a stressful and exhausting process. If married people possess any sort of property, have joint bank accounts, share a car, and so forth – these items are usually separated between them during the process either by a settlement or by a judge. If they have minor kids, they can either set up a visitation schedule on their own or have their child-custody-related issues settled in the court. This is how divorces have been handled at all times.

With the advent of newer technology, handling divorce cases becomes even more stressful. To ensure that your case is handled in your best interest, it is crucial to understand how technology can impact it and shape your and your kids’ future.

How Technology Impacts Communication between Divorcing Partners and Ex-Spouses

Technology can have many positive effects on divorcing couples. Let us say when spouses interact with emails, their communication becomes less stressful and more formal, especially when they prefer to keep their distance from each other. If they don’t feel like speaking on the phone with each other, they can take advantage of texting. This is how they can change their plans or make some arrangements on the go in a non-insulting manner.

There are also many co-parenting sites and apps that allow parents to share each kid’s schedule, stay notified about all upcoming events or appointments, and keep track of all expenses. These tools were designed with every kid’s interest in mind and are meant to improve the quality of communication between two parents.

Technology Serves as a Source of Evidence in Court

When it comes to fault-based cases when every divorce papers form is filled out with an attorney, technology can become a source of evidence committing marital misconduct, domestic abuse, etc. Information that is found on the Net, including pictures, videos, comments, likes, messages, and even postings can be used by lawyers against their opponents in hard cases.

Nowadays, a dispute about whether a party was unfaithful during the marriage can be easily resolved with a social media post or an incoming message. Just as likely, a social media comment congratulating a party on winning the big one on a lottery or making a "secret" buy of a new car/house/etc. can greatly shape the outcome of any case.

Shared Accounts and Means Put Divorcing Partners to Trouble

No matter whether these are joint bank accounts or shared docs on the Cloud, they have to be handled as well. Unless spouses want their exes to be able to access the documents stored on the Cloud or to keep track of their account activity, they have to limit this unwanted interference upon the end of their marital relationships on paper.

It is also worth mentioning that many divorcing spouses are very likely to spy on their partners and for this they use:

• mini spy cameras;
• monitoring apps;
• and GPS tracking apps to monitor both physical and online activity of their soon to be exes.

No spouse can spy on his or her partner under any circumstances and shared accounts and monitoring apps only promote this sort of inappropriate behavior.

Technology and Useful Tips for Divorcing Couples

Unless you and your partner are on the same wavelength and filing for divorce online is what you two are after, it is highly recommended watching your every action you take on the Internet. Keep in mind that every post you do, every comment you type, and every email you send or receive can play Old Harry with you in a courtroom and thus affect your wellbeing, financial shape, etc. after divorce.

In a nutshell, never post or type a word that you would not be comfortable having your kid, mother, priest, or whoever to read. Also, never send offensive emails to your spouse as you can use threats, humiliate, and insult your partner in the heat of the movement. And even if you delete them, there are many ways your spouse’s attorney can retrieve your every word and use it against you with ease.

Remember that no judge will want to go into details and find out the circumstances by which you have posted something to see what exactly your post means. In court, dry facts are what hold more sway, and thus what you type on the Internet is more dangerous than anything you could say to your partner’s face.

Stay alert and mind P's and Q's every time you want to rant about something or someone on the Net. Keep in mind that your account is one of the places, if not the first one, where your partner’s lawyer will try to find the leverage against you.

Moreover, check the privacy settings on your all accounts. Never use online media to dig up dirt on your spouse; instead, hire a lawyer who will collect relevant information for you and produce it in court. Lastly, don’t allow anybody to access your social media accounts and never accept requests from strangers and those who can potentially use your posts against you.

My name is Lisa. I work as a lawyer, specializing in divorce proceedings. In my free time I write articles about relationships, marriages and divorces.