Online Dating Profiles Often Cited in Divorce
If you're going through a divorce, you'll want to be careful when filling out your online dating profile, especially if you're signing up for Match.com.
According to a recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), 64% of respondents say they've cited Match.com as a source of evidence in divorce proceedings.
That means many divorcing parties and their attorneys are looking to Match.com and other dating websites to uncover incriminating evidence to use against the other spouse in a divorce.
What kind of evidence would that be?
Digging for Distortions
Specifically, they're looking for evidence in a person's profile that distorts the truth. This can include claims that a spouse is single when, in fact, the spouse is still married; or claims that a spouse has no children, when such a claim is untrue.
In fact, relationship status is the most commonly cited piece of evidence taken from these websites.
Other evidence pertinent to divorce cases can include details about a spouse's salary and occupation, as well as relationship or parental status.
And while Match.com was the site most commonly cited by divorce lawyers, attorneys have used other dating sites like eHarmony to gather evidence, too.
Legal Consequences
Generally speaking, you probably won't get into too much legal trouble for distorting your profile, if the claims are minor. But if you're in the middle of a divorce, you need to be careful.
In a divorce case, issues involving dishonesty can come back to haunt a spouse. For example, a court can look at dishonest behavior as a negative factor when weighing child custody options. If the dishonesty is something that could negatively affect the child, a court could be more reluctant to grant custody to the dishonest parent.
Similarly, when it comes to the division of assets, snippets from Facebook and Match.com profiles can give away a lot of information about the financial status of a spouse.
The rule for anyone going through a divorce is this: Don't post too much online. It could come back to bite you.
Related Resources:
- How Child Support Calculations Work (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Facebook to Blame for 1 in 5 Divorces, Lawyers Say (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- 5 Rules for Social Media Use During Divorce (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- 5 Ways Love Can Lead to Lawsuits, Legal Action (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)