Greg Welden likes to tell a story about how, when he first started working in the Law (in 2001), he wasn’t even provided with a computer. I should probably milk this for all it is worth (after all I am the younger partner). However, in truth, it reflects the nature of this profession, revealing how slow us lawyers are to adapt to change. Of course even the legal profession is not immune to change, especially that which is facilitated by rapid advancements in technology.
Not surprisingly, Family Lawyers were the first to really begin to exploit the opportunities provided by the social media revolution. Since 2008/9 lawyers have turned to social media sites such as facebook as a means for gathering information, often content that is incriminating, to be used in divorce and childrens’ proceedings. This has become such common practice now that many lawyers routinely advise clients to exercise extreme caution when posting information about their activities in an online platform.
More recently, the use of social media as a legal tool was taken a step further when a father was granted a court order to serve documents to his ex-partner using a social media platform. This situation evolved when the father via his solicitor, filed an affidavit outlining the man’s unsuccessful attempts to contact his ex-partner who had actively chosen not to make contact so that a resolution regarding the care of their 8 year- old child might be finalised. Accordingly, in a landmark decision, a court order, granting sole parental responsibility to the father, was administered by facebook in April of this year.
Interestingly, the main concern associated with using any form of digital media as the means to serve documents, is the need to ensure that the documents were, in fact, delivered. Furthermore, it is critical to ensure that the documents were not only delivered, but they were received by the intended recipient. With email and fax being the more common forms of digital service undertaken, it is advised that the sender seeks consent from the other party prior to sending the documents, that a read receipt is requested (for emails), along with a return confirmation that the documents were received.
It is our advice making telephone contact with the other party to confirm receipt of the documents and that any evidence of service is retained (ie fax transmission reports, notes related to the time and place of delivery).

Modern society has well and truly embraced social media.  It’s rare to find anyone these days without a facebook account, and it is not at all unusual for individuals to maintain multiple accounts with social media providers like twitter, snapchat and instagram.

We live in an age of over-sharing.

Photos, videos, status updates, online diaries or vlogs; every single aspect of your life, the highs and the lows can be shared with the world online.  Certainly the saying that “it didn’t happen unless you posted it,” is increasingly becoming true.  Only last week an image appeared on facebook with the picture of a news reader, the caption below citing “Mt Lofty Tragedy: Young Lady ‘Smashes Lofty’ and forgets to check-in at the summit.”  We all laughed.  It reminded us of how ridiculous our lives online have become.

But should everything be shared?  Are there times when we should hold back from sharing?  The simple answer is absolutely. Everything you post online should be curated with care.  Everything.  Under normal circumstances.

Circumstances are not always normal and there may be times when you need to exercise even greater care with regards to this.  For example, you may be in the midst of a separation and court proceedings for a Family Law matter could be underway.  With tensions already at fever pitch it makes sense to avoid doing anything that might throw fuel to the flame, or provide ammunition to be used against you in court.  In particular we would specifically advise our clients to avoid:

• Posts which comment on your relationship status, particularly those which denigrate your ex with a comparison to a new relationship.
• Sharing of information in relation to purchases made with a joint credit card. This includes holiday snaps.
• Sharing of images or videos of yourself partying, consuming alcohol or taking drugs. Be extra cautious of anything shared that occurs while you are the parent caring for children of the relationship.
• Posting denigrating comments about your ex-spouse, their family, or friends.
• Discussing publicly in any way private details about Court proceedings.

You see the problem with social media, and what you post on it, is the way it can easily be taken out of context.  Images can suggest something where there is nothing, text can also be subversive.  The best way to protect yourself is to exercise extreme caution in what you post, when you post and how you post it.

“But my ex is blocked from my account.” I hear you say.

Sure, but unfortunately you can’t stop a mutual friend from sharing a screen shot of what has been posted with your ex outside the site.  It happens more than you might think.

While you may think that you have control over what you post online, in truth you don’t.  Anything appearing online, no matter how high you set your privacy, is really only as private as those who see it will allow.  If they can see it they can share it and it has the potential to sting you when it really matters in Court.

In summary, when going through Family Law proceedings we strongly advise, no matter how inflamed you may feel, that you err on the side of caution when it comes to online sharing.  The internet is not the best forum for counselling and certainly no place to air your dirty laundry.