The Role of Technology in Child Custody Disputes

Technology has become so integrated into our lives that we often do not consider how much of our personal information is stored on our devices. When married couples share phone plans, devices, and passwords, they rarely think of the consequences of this decision if they were to divorce in the future. The consequences grow bigger when there are children involved and child custody could be at stake.

While maintaining contact with a former spouse to try to lessen conflict could be beneficial in some cases, it just as often results in fiery disputes, name-calling, and even false allegations. Unfortunately, once a text is out there, there is no taking it back. These forms of contact could be used in court proceedings to either help or hurt your case. Our knowledgeable attorneys can help you navigate the role of technology in child custody disputes.

The Benefits and Misuse of Technology in Child Custody Disputes

It is important that children remain safe throughout custody proceedings. One method ex-spouses can use to ensure their children’s safety is GPS tracking. Since there is often no longer trust between the former spouses, GPS tracking allows both parties to check in on their children. Conversely, GPS tracking can be misused to follow or track someone’s ex-spouse instead of the children.

Another benefit of technology in child custody disputes is gathering evidence to prove your former spouse is mistreating or otherwise unfit to care for the children. For example, you may find photos or texts that you can use as evidence to prove your ex-spouse has been abusive, either to you or your children. Another important instance could be if your ex-spouse has an alcohol or drug addiction issue and there is text, photo, or video evidence showing their recklessness. The other side of the coin, however, is when an ex-spouse tries to twist the narrative behind a text, photo, or recording, or take them out of context, to attempt to obtain an unfair advantage in the case.

In this day and age, nearly everyone has at least one form of social media. In child custody disputes, this can be advantageous in showing your ex-spouse’s problematic behavior. Text descriptions or images can be used in court proceedings to show the opposing party’s assets, lifestyle habits, or addictions. However, in order for the evidence to be admissible, the account must have been accessed with permission. Permission can simply be the acceptance of a friend request, so it is important to ensure the opposing party is not using a fake account to gain access to statements and images you believed to be private. As a general rule of thumb, never post anything you would not want your ex-spouse to see, even if you have blocked them on all of your accounts. This is because, as with texts, photos, and recordings, social media content may be taken out of context and misused against you.

These are just some ways in which technology can be used or misused in child custody court proceedings. If you require legal assistance to help you through the process or answer any questions you may have, contact Moskowitz Law Group for more information.