Skip to main content

Divorce in the Facebook Era

Image
By
Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Myspace, and Google have changed how we live and connect socially in many ways, and these changes extend to how we break up as well. Even if you're not a member of Second Life, you likely have a second online life made up of your Facebook posts pictures and tags. So what happens when you get divorced? When do you change your relationship status? What do you do with tagged pictures of both of you? Do you unfriend your ex?

All of these questions and more were explored in a recent Gizmodo article: How to Survive the Modern Day Breakup. The basic takeaway point from the article is that you should use the same common sense prudence in your online life that you should use in your offline life.

For example, you wouldn't throw away family pictures just because you're getting divorced, but you might put them away in storage for a while. Similarly, you might want to remove your online pictures and save them on a hard drive, CD or DVD that you keep but put away for now.

Another example, is how you should handle relationship status changes. You might now want to call all your friends and tell them you're getting divorced. Similarly, you can change your relationship status on Facebook without having it appear in everyone's news feed by changing the privacy settings for your status.

Finally, consider what you write online to be as public as what you tell your most gossipy friend. If you don't want your comments to make their way back to your ex, then don't tell them to mutual friends, and don't post them online.

Labels:

Comments

  1. Houston Divorce AttorneyJune 8, 2011 at 1:51 AM

    So much have change in this Social Networking Era.
    But the easier part is that. You can update the relationship status very easily. That also may be the hardest part in the heart.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the purpose of the Divorce Nisi waiting period?

By
In Massachusetts the statutory waiting period after a Judgment of Divorce and before the divorce becomes final (or absolute) is called the Nisi period. After a divorce case settles or goes to trial, a Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This waiting period serves the purpose of allowing parties to change their mind before the divorce becomes final. If the Judgment of Divorce Nisi has issued but not become final yet, and you and your spouse decide you don't want to get divorced, then you can file a Motion to Dismiss and the Judgment will be undone. Although many of my clients who are getting divorced think the idea of getting back together with their ex sounds crazy, I have had cases where this happened. In addition to offering a grace period to change your mind, the Nisi period has three other legal effects: 1. The most obvious effect of the waiting period is that you cannot remarry during the Nisi period, be
74 comments
Read more

Does a Criminal Record affect Child Custody?

By
If one of the parents in a custody case has a criminal record, the types of crimes on their record could have an effect on their chances of obtaining custody. In custody cases the issue is always going to come down to whether or not the best interests of the child might be affected. In the most extreme case, in which one parent has been convicted of first degree murder of the other parent, the law specifically prohibits visitation with the children until they are of a suitable age to assent. Similarly, but to a less serious degree, in making custody and visitation determinations the court will consider crimes that would cause one to question the fitness of a parent. These types of crimes would obviously include any violent crime convictions which could call into question whether the children would be in danger around a parent who has shown themselves to resort to violence when faced with conflict. In addition, drug and alcohol abuse offenses would call into question a parent&#
65 comments
Read more

What happens after my Divorce Agreement is approved by a Judge?

By
If you filed a Joint Petition for Divorce in Massachusetts then you will participate in an uncontested divorce hearing and the Judge will then issue Findings of Fact the day of the hearing.  A Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue after thirty (30) days, and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This means that if you file a Joint Petition for Divorce you are not legally and officially divorced until 120 days after the divorce hearing date. If you filed a Complaint for Divorce  then your case will end either with a trial (if you don't settle) or an uncontested divorce hearing (if you settle).  If you reach an Agreement, then a Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue and be effective as of the date of the uncontested divorce hearing, and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This means that if you file a Complaint for Divorce you are not legally and officially divorced until 90 days after the divorce hearing date. Therefore, for 90 - 120 day
2 comments
Read more