Whether going through a divorce or civil lawsuit, beware of the posts that you create on media sites like Facebook and Twitter. While airing comments for your friends and family, and whatever strangers are on your site or following your tweets, you create a permanent record that can easily haunt you in the courtroom.

In divorces, feelings are hurt, and many turn to these social networking sites to vent; however, those posts can also give attorneys a treasure trove of information that could affect the outcome of the divorce proceedings. For instance, off-handed remarks about the soon-to-be ex, talking about that new person in your life, or those embarrassing photos that are often posted can easily be used to contradict you in court and adversely affect your divorce proceeding and any accompanying custody fight.

Likewise, those innocuous tweets or posts on Facebook can severely affect your personal injury claim. We have seen cases where the defendant adamantly denied any liability but found admissions of liability on Facebook and MySpace. We have also seen issues arise from posts and pictures on Facebook and other networking site that have adversely affected injury claims.

We are not advocating abandoning these websites as they have become an important tool to keep in contact in an ever-increasingly fast-paced world. However, we are asking that you think before you post because once a post is made it will remain out there forever, even if later deleted by the poster.

Feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss the specifics of your family law or personal injury case.