Social Media With Your Custody Case

What Judges See, What It Costs You, and How to Protect Yourself

A post written in anger can resurface months later in a custody dispute. Photos, comments, stories, dating profiles, check-ins, and messages may all become relevant if they shed light on a parent’s conduct or a child’s well-being. Before sharing, consider who might see the post beyond your intended audience.

How Social Media Can Enter Court

In Colorado, courts decide parenting arrangements by considering the child’s best interests. Social media may offer time-stamped information about a parent’s activities, statements, or location. Posts can be shared during discovery or offered as evidence. The person presenting them may need to show they are authentic, but familiar details, photos, or account information can help establish that.

A parent’s own statements may also be offered against them. A private account does not create legal privilege, and screenshots can circulate beyond a selected group of followers.

Posts That Can Create Problems

Repeated criticism of a co-parent may raise questions about whether a parent supports the child’s relationship with the other parent. Posts about court proceedings, angry remarks, or statements that conflict with claims made in court can affect credibility. Images or updates about partying, spending, or missed parenting time may prompt questions, especially when they conflict with what a parent has told the court.

A single post does not determine a custody case. Patterns and context matter, including whether children saw the material and whether it reflects ongoing conflict.

Steps to Protect Your Family

Do not delete potentially relevant content without first speaking with your attorney. Removing posts after litigation begins or is expected can create evidence-preservation issues. Never access an ex-partner’s accounts, use fake profiles to monitor them, or ask children to gather information.

Review privacy and tagging settings, turn off unnecessary location sharing, and follow any parenting-plan rules about posting children. Avoid sharing identifying details such as school names or regular locations. If a protection order is in place, understand what online contact it prohibits.

Pause before posting. Ask whether you would be comfortable seeing the content presented in court, and whether sharing it serves your child. For advice about a specific case, consult your attorney.

If you want to learn more about the Children First Family Law Podcast, check out www.childrenfirstfamilylaw.com/cffsocial-media-and-your-custody-case 

The post Social Media With Your Custody Case appeared first on Children First Family Law PC.



from Children First Family Law PC https://childrenfirstfamilylaw.com/social-media-with-your-custody-case/
via Children First Family Law

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

035: Choosing Your Child’s Therapist with Child Custody Expert & LPC Christy Bradshaw Schmidt

Choosing a therapist for your child often feels daunting because it’s an important decision in the divorce process. Today’s guest offers invaluable advice on what to look for in a therapy professional. On this episode of Children First Family Law, Krista welcomes child custody expert and Texas-licensed professional counselor Christy Bradshaw Schmidt. Christy has served as a private child custody evaluator since 2003, having completed more than 600 evaluations for families. She also serves as a private consultant and expert witness in family law matters like constructing parenting plans for kids less than three years old, relocation, reunification, and parent-child contact problems, among other topics. Christy is also a leading voice in helping therapists understand boundaries in high-conflict cases, the appropriate roles of mental health professionals in family law matters, and why selecting appropriate therapists for court-involved families is critical. Christy is the author of hund...
Read more

When Therapy Alone Isn’t Enough — Complex Family Systems and High-Conflict Divorce in Colorado

When a child stops wanting to see a parent, most people assume the solution is therapy. Find a good counselor, get the child into sessions, and let the healing begin. That assumption is understandable. It is also incomplete, and in the most difficult cases, acting on it without the right framework can make things worse. Complex family systems therapy is a different discipline entirely. It addresses the cases where estrangement has taken hold, conflict has calcified over months or years, and the standard therapeutic model simply does not fit what the family actually needs. Every Member of the System Has a Role The most common misconception in these cases is that the problem belongs to two people: the child and the parent they’ve pulled away from. In reality, the entire family system is involved. The favored parent, the extended family, even the attorneys in the room can contribute to the dynamic that keeps conflict alive. That means effective treatment requires participation from ev...
Read more

059: Seeing Families Clearly: Understanding Neurodiversity in Family Law with Meggin Rutherford

Image
In this episode of the Children First Family Law®️ podcast, Krista welcomes Meggin Rutherford, a Colorado attorney, mediator, and parenting coordinator whose professional work and personal experience give her a unique perspective on neurodiversity in family law. As an attorney with autism and ADHD, Meggin shares how understanding neurodivergent families can transform the way attorneys, judges, and parents approach custody, parenting plans, and co-parenting relationships. Drawing from her own journey as well as her work with families navigating autism, ADHD, and other neurodivergent experiences, Meggin explains how the legal system’s “one-size-fits-all” model often fails these families. She emphasizes the need for individualized parenting plans, reduced transitions for children, and clear decision-making structures that account for each child’s unique neurobiological wiring. Krista and Meggin discuss the difference between neurodiversity (the natural variation in how brains function)...
Read more