Is Your Smartphone Too Smart for Your Divorce?

Technology is a wonderful thing when used correctly. In fact, chances are most of your life fits in the palm of your hand. Many people cart around schedules, memos, reminders, entire contact lists, and essential parts of their home and business lives on smart phones, tablets, laptops, and even wifi-ready handheld gaming consoles. Tapping away to total strangers (or secret crushes) can easily be done without secondary knowledge. After all, it’s just text or social media. Perhaps you frequent certain sites or email a specific co-worker when you’re fighting with your significant other, but that’s on your downtime. What’s wrong with a little flirting anyway?

What Happens When Technology Bytes Back?

Your life is your business. But when a jealous or neglected spouse is involved, all bets are off. Your Michigan divorce lawyer will encourage you to stay off of social media if separating or going through a divorce. Since 2007, attorneys nationwide have reported an 81 percent rise in divorce cases which utilized social media evidence. Facebook is still the primary culprit, resulting in 66 percent of all reports.

But it’s not just social networking that you need to worry about. Banking, emails, texts, physical phone calls, website visitations, and certain apps all leave digital trails. These are trails easily accessed by a jealous or doubting spouse. And it doesn’t take much to turn anger or resentment into determination. Most of us don’t think about clearing our temporary files nightly or keeping our devices password protected. The act of doing so is a red flag for many marriages. But in the event of divorce, simple and smart decisions can go a long way to help protect your financial future – regardless of which side you’re on.


Isn’t Michigan a No-Fault Divorce State?

Most territories across the nation claim the no-fault rule for divorce. A no-fault divorce basically just allows the couple to expedite the divorce quickly without playing the blame game. Without a technical documentation for the end of the marriage, dissolutions can be finalized faster than they have in the past. How fast? Between 60 and 180 days in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, for example. However, situations such as adultery, physical or mental abuse, physical or mental cruelty, threats, and improper spending of household funds can cost you in the long run.

Ninety-two percent of attorneys have reported increased evidence submitted by smart phones since 1994. There has been a 94 percent rise in text messages in that same time frame, lifting texts to the number one place for subpoenaed evidence in divorce proceedings. Texts replaced email evidence which is now holding firm at 23 percent of reportings. Such evidence is easily accessed by a tech-savvy spouse, but it’s considered hearsay and is thereby inadmissible when presented that way. Hiring a reputable private investigator, however, can help ensure the any evidence found becomes a legal addition to your case. And while it won’t stop the divorce, it can benefit you in other ways – or hurt you, depending on whether you’re the victim or the culprit.

Such evidence can alert the court to the future intentions of the device’s owner, as well as his or her mental, physical, and emotional state at any given time during the separation. This can lead to extra spousal support, spousal payment demands for misused marital funds, reversal of joint property, and potential loss of child custody or mediated visitation. Technological evidence can be retrieved from email servers, cell companies, and directly from your phone even if they were previously deleted. Which begs the question, was it really worth it?

Contact us today to discuss your situation with a Michigan divorce attorney.

Femminineo Attorneys
Michigan Divorce Help
110 S Main St #200
Mt Clemens, MI 48043
United States
(586) 954-9500
http://www.michigandivorcehelp.com/