why you need an attorney during a divorce

Family Divorces: Learning To Separate The Digital Life

29 June 2015 by Diana Butler

In today's society, a divorce is a lot more than moving out from your home. Along with the physical world that you live in, divorces expand to the digital world. With social media profiles and digital content, your family footprint can cover a lot of ground. Protecting yourself and getting through the divorce as easily as possible often involves a lot of changes to your digital world. By coming up with plans on your own and working with a family law attorney, you have the ability to peacefully change your social media life and cope with your divorce at the same time.

Password Changes

Divorces can be bitter, and instead of being the victim of a personal attack, it's important to protect yourself as early as possible. Change the password to all of your personal social media and online accounts. Choose a strong password that cannot be figured out by the former spouse. Use multiple passwords for different accounts to add extra protection.

Work with an attorney to come up with a list of all the social media websites that you use. Even if you have not used a website in a while, it's a good idea to change the password or completely delete the account. This change can protect your account from getting attacked and also prevent any personal information from getting deleted by a spouse.

Family Privacy

A divorce is a vulnerable time children who are going through big changes. Do not let the problems get even worse due to actions on social media. While you may be outgoing and upfront on social media, you should keep your personal family business as private as possible while on the website. Keep things vague and post as little as possible about the divorce. It can help protect your children from unwarranted rumors and gossip.

The public posts you put on social media could also be used against you during a divorce case. This is another crucial aspect of limiting social media. For example, if you're bragging about money spent or your lifestyle, it could impact your alimony agreement.

Marriage Statuses

When the time comes, you will eventually have to change your social media status from "Married" to "Single." Choosing to do this on a whim could hurt the feelings of the other parties involved. Instead of rushing or delaying your status change, it's a good idea to communicate this with your spouse and complete the action at the same time.

It may seem like a petty thing, but it can also help show a united front on your children. It will help put your social media life into perspective and create an amicable atmosphere. If you're not on speaking terms with your spouse, then your attorney can help bring up the issue during any form of mediation.

Starting Fresh

Social media pages may feel like a history book on your life. Instead of reliving memories that bring pain and sorrow, it may be a good idea to start completely fresh. Moving out of your home is a way to start fresh in the real world, and creating a new social media page can start you fresh online. Instead of going through the painful process of deleting friends or connections to a spouse, you can start positively by adding friends to your new profile.

Digital Devices & Accounts

Some of your digital profiles may mix over into the real world. Digital accounts for streaming music and video are often shared by families. Through mediation, you need to decide who keeps access tot he accounts, whether the accounts should be shut down, or if some type of compromise can be reached.

The devices you used the accounts on may become a part of the mediation as well. This includes tablets, video game consoles, and mp3 players. When you are receiving or giving a device away, it's important to make clear if the accounts are included with them. An attorney can help sort this out and organize it as best as possible.

Before consulting with an attorney, make a full list of as many accounts and social media profiles you have. This can make it easier to sort through items and plan your divorce accordingly. Continue here for more information on what a divorce lawyer may be able to do for you.

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