Careful what you do with your smartphones during divorce ”“ according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), approximately 97 percent of members have reported an increase in the amount of evidence taken from smartphones and other wireless devices in the last few years.
A lot can be gleaned from smartphones that could be relevant in a divorce case. Text messages are the most frequently used, as well as emails, phone numbers, call history, internet browser searches and GPS location information.
One underutilized resource for obtaining information is apps. Everyone uses them, and even game apps such as Words with Friends could have information relevant to a divorce. Many games have a built-in chat function, making these apps just as valuable as text messages when used as evidence. Other apps like Snapchat, Google Maps and Tinder (for obvious reasons) could be used to gather data for a divorce case.
Protecting Your Smartphone Data in Divorce
If you are going through a divorce, you should be very careful with what you do on your smartphone. Just like social media postings, anything you say on your phone, even to someone other than your spouse, can be used against you. Others can screenshot the things you say and your data can be subpoenaed by your spouse’s attorney. It is incredibly easy to self-incriminate through smartphone use, so use your best judgment. Likewise, if you have information relevant to your divorce that you believe can help you in your divorce, such as things your spouse said that could affect his or her custody of your children, you should present that information to a family law attorney.
Divorce Matters ”“ Denver Family Law Attorneys
