A recent article on forbes.com addressed five costly mistakes made during divorce proceedings. Divorcing Women: Don't Make These Five Costly Mistakes, by Jeff Landers, forbes.com. Though the author specifically addressed his article to women, both men and women are equally capable of making these mistakes, which could cause a divorce to be more expensive and go on much longer.
Mistake #1 - Texting. It is important to be extremely careful about any texts, emails or other forms of digital communication sent or received as they can, and likely will, be scrutinized in hops that they can be used as evidence against you in your divorce case. According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers ("AAML"), there has been a sharp increase in the number of cases using evidence obtained from smart phones, including texts, over the past three years. In short, if something is written electronically, assume that your soon to be ex-spouse will see it.
Mistake #2 - Facebooking. Much like texts and emails, anything you put on your Facebook page, including status updates, pictures, and comments, can potentially be used against you in your divorce case. According to the AAML, there has also been an increase in evidence obtained from social networking websites over the past five years.
Mistake #3 - Dating. Many people going through a divorce make the mistake of dating before the divorce is finalized. Not only will this likely anger your spouse and likely make them more willing to fight you tooth and nail in the divorce action, but any money spent on your paramour could come back to bite you in the divorce proceedings.
Mistake #4 - Snooping. Depending on what state you live in, snooping on your spouse can get you in a lot of legal trouble. Though it may be tempting to access your spouse's email, especially if you know his/her password, the article recommends that you consult with your divorce attorney first, to ensure you know your rights under Georgia law.
Mistake #5 - Shopping. The article also discourages shopping as a form of "feel good therapy" during your divorce. More often than not, trying to get back at your spouse by spending and or/ dissipating marital assets will only increase your debt and bring up another issue that needs to be addressed in relation to equitable division.
Making these mistakes may hurt your divorce case, but, if your spouse makes any of these mistakes, you may be able to use them to your advantage. It is important that you communicate with your Atlanta Divorce Attorney about all of these issues so that he/she can best use any available information to benefit your case.