Managing Your Electronic Data During the Divorce Process

In our modern world, most people are intensely connected to the internet, social media and mobile devices. This has had an impact on family law, as increasing numbers of divorce cases involved attorneys reviewing electronic communications between the parties. So how can you deal with your electronic data to make sure it does not compromise your ability to achieve the outcome you desire in your divorce?

Depending on what you have posted or shared, damage control might be difficult. If you delete pictures, text messages and other posts in mass quantities, it could reflect poorly on you in the divorce proceedings. However, the following are some strategies you might use:

• Decrease online activity: Deactivate your Facebook profile — or at least heavily restrict your usage. This goes for other social networks, as well. Never post about your divorce or anything that could possibly come back to haunt you later.
• Change passwords and security info: You do not want your spouse to be able to access your account, so you should make any security changes necessary to protect yourself. This starts with changing your password.
• Create a new email account: This new email address can be your primary personal inbox from this point forward. You may set up a mechanism to forward messages from your old account to your new one so that you don’t lose any messages unintentionally.
• Increase device security: You might benefit from turning off location tracking on your device or preventing it from syncing with any other devices to which your spouse has access. This will help ensure your data remains private.

A family law attorney will provide you with more in-depth guidance on how you should manage your electronic data and online accounts before and during the divorce process. For further advice on this increasingly important issue, speak with an experienced Nassau County divorce lawyer at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.