The American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) recently conducted a survey of divorce attorney which revealed a growing trend involving evidence found on social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Match.com. According to the survey, 66 percent of attorneys use Facebook to find incriminating photos or statements while 15percent use MySpace and only 5 percent use Twitter.

People do not realize that what you post on sits such as Facebook are permanent, even if you close your page or later delete comments.  Racy pictures and derogatory comments are discoverable because there is no right of privacy in social media forums. This information can be used as evidence of “ accurate depictions of what someone did, said (or intended to say) at the time. MSNBC.com recently highlighted some examples of such posts:

-In court, a mother denied that she smokes marijuana but posted photos of herself partying and smoking pot on Facebook.

-A husband went on Match.com and declared he was single and had no children while he was seeking primary custody of his actual children.

- A husband denied that he had anger management issues but under the “write something about yourself” section on Facebook: “If you have the balls to get in my face, I’ll kick your ass into submission”.

Because postings such as these can hurt a client’s case, more attorneys are advising their clients to shut down Facebook pages and Twitter accounts when in the admist of a divorce.

For more information, see “Facebook Can Haunt You in Your Divorce” (Razai & Nefulda, businessreviewusa.com)