Facebook, Twitter, and Divorce

If you are in the midst of a divorce, the rule regarding facebook, and twitter, is very simple....

DON'T    DO    IT

Removing your soon-to-be ex-spouse from your friends list, is not enough.  Removing that person's friends from your friends list, is not enough.

Trust me, I have seen it time and time again...
In the best of circumstances, I'll get an email or a telephone call from a client, letting me know that a friend of a friend of a friend, came across a post on facebook, or a tweet, that can be detrimental to the other side.  Sometimes, the source of information isn't even a friend (or a friend of a friend) of my client... but a friend of the poster/tweeter, who just wants to 'rub it in'.
In the worst of circumstances, I'll get a call or a letter from the attorney for the other side, referencing something that my client posted...  something that is detrimental to my client.

Sure, it's possible to remove a post, but once the damage has been done, it's difficult to undo it.  If even one person saw the post, and is willing to sign an affidavit, or testify, removing the post doesn't solve the problem.

And while I know we can't always control our family and friends, even well-meaning friends and family can cause damage.

Divorces can be difficult, there's no need to make them more difficult.  Having to explain to the court why there is/was a picture online, of you walking out of bar on the day you couldn't pick up the kids because you were at work...  doesn't make you look good.  Having the other side submit a picture of you and the children at a playground on the day you denied visitation because one of the kids was too sick...  doesn't make you look good.  Trying to explain to the judge that you didn't mean it, when you posted that you'd trashed the other side's possessions, that you now claim you didn't have --  well, it's a problem.

Yes, we've all gotten in the habit of 'venting', and getting out our frustrations by posting on Facebook, or Tweeting on Twitter, or even writing on our blog.
But while the divorce is going on...  Just Don't Do It.

Passports and Children

Contrary to what you might think from talking to your friends and reading the news, most divorces have at least a basic level of civility, and both parents put the interests of the children, first.

However, if you are in one of those situations where there is no civility, there is no communication -- or worse, there is only hostile communication, and you have concerns about your spouse's/former spouse's intentions with regard to the children, you might be interested in this link.
Passports and children

The US State Department has established the Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program  (CPIAP).  This program allows a parent  (or both parents) to register children under the age of 18, in the Department's Passport Lookout System.  Completing, and submitting  this form results in the Department notifying you if a passport application has been submitted, or if a passport has been issued.

Note...  if a passport has already been issued, CPIAP does not prevent the passport from being used.  There is no way to track the use of a passport, once it has been issued, since there are no exit controls for people leaving the United States.  If your child already has a passport, and the other parent is not willing to agree that you can have sole possession of the passport, you should ask that either the court, or one of the attorneys, hold the passport.   It is always possible to request a duplicate passport, of course, except that now the CPIAP protection kicks in.