You just filed for divorce. You are now ending a relationship with the one person who knows the majority of your secrets, has access to your computer, probably either knows or is a few guesses away from your passwords, and is usually ready and able to use this information against you. What you once thought as a funny Facebook post such as “I haven’t been this drunk since college!” is now coming out as evidence that you have a drinking problem and shouldn’t have custody let alone visitation of your children. The thing is, you probably don’t always clear out your passwords or your computer history, and just because your spouse isn’t on match.com doesn’t mean her single BFF isn’t. No lawyer wants to end up with a lemon client (a client that is surely about to lose their case in court.)
Here are a few sites that your Divorce lawyer wants you to avoid like the black plague:
- Facebook – As referenced above, posts can be misconstrued or used to evidence your faults. You may have a photo of you hugging a friend of the opposite sex, but once opposing counsel finds it – they can make it look like you’re having an affair. You could be having a terrible day and state that you feel depressed or down, and next thing you know you’re clinically depressed (most likely suicidal) and unfit to take care of your children. You might post a picture of you giving your dog a kiss, and in court you’re accused of bestiality. Facebook is like a stage. Everyone is watching. If you decide to stay on it, proceed with caution! Divorce Lawyers are normally pretty good at reading people. I’ve emailed clients before after watching a few messages back and forth and called the fact that they were about to start dating someone. They thought they were being secretive, but the signs are easy to read when you’ve seen them all before.
- Match.com, E Harmony, Plenty O’ Fish etc.: These sites show when you signed up, when you were last active, and your PHOTO. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think your spouse will ever know, because everyone in the community will see it. We recently had a friend join match and we’ve both seen multiple people we know personally on the site. It gets around, especially if you have a corny profile or if someone knows you’re not single…
- Craig’s List- You know what I’m referring to… ew… just ew…
- AshleyMadison.com, No Strings Attached, Lonely Cheating Wives, etc. – If you haven’t heard of these sites, well check them out. They are sites that are made for married men and women who want to cheat. If the other side finds this on your search history, or finds a credit card charge that leads to these sites, adultery is pretty much guaranteed. Getting caught on a site like this is the equivalent of getting caught with your pants DOWN.
- Sugardaddy.com – Oh Man… either man or woman on this site… is a bad sign for your divorce lawyer. As a woman, it’s basically glorified prostitution. As a man, it’s basically glorified prostitution, and you are now a “John.” What could make this worse? Having children involved. If you are paying for a girl half your age to go to college, but you refuse to pay for your children to go to college? You might be a lemon client. If you have a baby and are taking your baby with you as you fly across the US going from one hotel room to the next to see your sugar daddy and you think this okay? Then you might be a lemon client.
If you plan on retaining us as counsel, please delete your profiles for these sites BEFORE we file for divorce!