Divorce and Facebook? A picture could be worth more than you think!

A few weeks a got a call from my girlfriend telling me she had a "blog worthy" story. Now, she's married with two kids so obviously the story wasn't hers! She told me about our friend who just had her heart broken. She had been dating a guy for 6 weeks. The sleepovers were becoming regular and they were getting comfortable in their honeymoon stage. On dates he would even bring up things like if she wanted kids and asked if she could see a future with him.

Her future looked so bright, she had to wear shades! She has found a great guy who really liked her and wanted the same things she did. That was until he went on vacation. He told her that he was going to the East Coast to visit his family. He was only gone a day, when she saw his FB page and that he was not with his family, but with some other chick on a romantic vacation in Puerto Rico.

They had never discussed being exclusive, but it was something she assumed. Either way, it was the lies that ended everything, not the "cheating."

So, here we are, back to Facebook. I saw this article this weekend and couldn't help but blog about it. AP has gotten into the dating world too! The article is titled "Divorce Lawyers: Facebook Tops in Online Evidence." You can read the full article here, but here are the highlights.

"Oversharing on social networks has led to an overabundance of evidence in divorce cases. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says 81 percent of its members have used or faced evidence plucked from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking sites, including YouTube and LinkedIn, over the last five years."

And some of the things Divorce Lawyers have encountered:

• Husband goes on Match.com and declares his single, childless status while seeking primary custody of said nonexistent children.
• Husband denies anger management issues but posts on Facebook in his "write something about yourself" section: "If you have the balls to get in my face, I'll kick your ass into submission."
• Father seeks custody of the kids, claiming (among other things) that his ex-wife never attends the events of their young ones. Subpoenaed evidence from the gaming site World of Warcraft tracks her there with her boyfriend at the precise time she was supposed to be out with the children. Mom loves Facebook's Farmville, too, at all the wrong times.
• Mom denies in court that she smokes marijuana but posts partying, pot-smoking photos of herself on Facebook.

The best part is that attorneys now actually offer tips to FB users in case of a divorce! Tips include:

• What you say (or type!) can be held against you.
• Beware of your Frenemies (You never know who will take who's side in a break-up).
• A picture may be worth... Big Bucks!
• Use your privacy settings!

Yes, I know I'm still dating, not in a relationship and therefore not headed towards Divorce Court like Heidi and Spencer anytime soon, but this article not only made me laugh, but made me think.