Personal electronic data can influence your divorce case

Perhaps it is because our interactions with others via email, texts, and social media are done primarily in private that we are lulled into thinking that our communications will not yield wider consequences. That is to say, when we send someone an email or text, on a subconscious level, we seem to think we have the same degree of privacy that we have when speaking face-to-face or on the phone. But nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is, every communication that you share digitally can become a matter of record. And as recent events involving highly placed political figures demonstrate, there are circumstances in which those private communications can come under public scrutiny.

But it is not just public figures who must be concerned about possible revelations being extracted from digital communications. More and more, digital missives are being used in divorce cases. Of course, you likely know that attorneys target activity on social media sites in search of incriminating evidence that can be used against the opposing party, but the digital mining can go deeper.

Essentially, attorneys will search through any data that can be legally obtained. For the most part, this is done in an effort to discover hidden assets or for purposes related to child custody. But such searches can also bring to light some very compromising personal information that may end up being used in a courtroom.

If you are currently in a divorce situation, it is imperative to be proactive regarding both you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse’s digital archive. On one hand, you want to have access to as much of your ex’s data as possible to buttress your case. And on the other hand, it is important to take measures regarding your data to protect your interests.

An experienced California divorce attorney can provide you with guidance on how to best deal with the various records that could be a part of your divorce proceedings. The attorney can use a variety of valuable resources to aid you in your quest for a fair settlement.

Source: New York Times “In a Divorce, Who Gets Custody of Electronic Data? The Lawyers,” Jonah Engel Browich, Daniel Victor, Oct. 31, 2016