Fatal Facebook flaw

Everyone knows that Las Vegas is one of the best places in the world to come to in order to have fun. Everyone should also know that the last thing you want to do if you are having marital problems is to post a photo on Facebook of you and your girlfriend or boyfriend enjoying a night on the town here.

Your spouse will see it. And more important, your spouse’s family law attorney will see it. And even more important, your spouse’s family law attorney will use it against you in court when important decisions are being made about child custody and child support.

According to a recent news article, a Chicago man recently told his wife he was off to Michigan to visit his dear mother. Later, his wife found pictures of that weekend — spent with his girlfriend in Las Vegas.

By now, we’ve probably all seen one of these types of articles and yet the same mistakes are made again and again.

Just to be clear, you should not post anything on Facebook that you would not want your spouse and your spouse’s divorce lawyer and the judge in a divorce trial to see. If you don’t want all of them to see it, don’t post the photo or comment or joke or what-have-you for the world to enjoy. And please don’t think that just because you use Facebook privacy settings that you will keep the inappropriate materials private.

Those kinds of photos of husband and girlfriend, or wife and boyfriend, can prove disastrous in divorce. It can mean the difference in a custody settlement. So you must decide whether it’s more important to post your photo or to be able to have your attorney in a position where he or she can negotiate a favorable custody settlement on your behalf.