Caught online — How Facebook posts are fuelling divorce battles

Facebook is fuelling thousands of divorce rows because people have been caught flaunting their hidden wealth on social media, a British law firm has claimed.

Experts at Lake Legal, a Leedsbased firm, said around a third of divorce cases now involve the use of social media, with people attempting to prove or disprove allegations.

Posts featuring images and details of holidays are being used frequently to expose lies that have been made about a person’s income or overall financial standing, it was claimed.

Divorce lawyers are also said to be encouraging their clients to keep an eye on their estranged partner’s social media activity, as well as monitoring their friends and family.

Recently, a woman had her divorce settlement tripled after Facebook posts of her ex-husband’s holiday disproved his claims that he was living in penury.

Further investigations found the man had more than £1 million ($2m) in a Swiss bank account.

Emily Crick, a solicitor at Silk Family Law, told The Times: “A post that may seem harmless at an early stage in separation could become divorce dynamite in any subsequent proceedings. Sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook provide a treasure trove of often very useful pieces of information about an opponent’s secret life — the side to their lives they may have reason to hide in court.”

Facebook is also being used to expose partners who are lying with regards to their whereabouts. Excuses may be made that they cannot attend a hearing because of a funeral or another commitment, but images posted on Facebook may show them on holiday.

The danger of posting on social media does not end even when a marriage is officially over as it can also be used as evidence to overturn a settlement.

Crick said she had seen a case in which one man was undone after his new girlfriend boasted in a post on Facebook about how smart he had been in divorcing his ex-wife without revealing his hidden assets.

A person found guilty of concealing assets may also be charged with fraud or perjury and prison if found guilty.