Anything You Say Can Be Used Against You In A Divorce in Illinois

In a divorce in a perfect world, both people would agree that it just didn’t work out and move on with their lives while remaining great friends and co-parents. 

But, that rarely happens in the real world. 

Frequently, divorce is messy and there are a lot of emotions involved. People often say and do things that are out of character because of the intensity of the emotions involved in getting a divorce. But you should be very careful what you say, text, and post on social media because all of those communications can come back to haunt you in court.

From our McHenry, Illinois-based team of divorce attorneys at Diamond Legal, here’s what to watch out for during your divorce.

In Your Divorce, Every Word Counts

If you need to vent about your spouse during your divorce, the best thing to do is talk to a therapist or your experienced family law attorney. That way, you can be sure that nothing you say in the heat of the moment is going to end up hurting you in court. 

Phone messages, text messages, and social media posts may all be admissible in court and may hurt you when it comes to the divorce settlement. 

Some examples of items frequently read in court to show bias or to prove that one party in the divorce has an agenda include:

• Voice messages
• Emails
• Text messages
• Social media posts

These pieces of evidence could impact any aspect of your divorce. 

It’s extremely important to not fly off the handle in any messages that might hurt you in court. We have seen many sad cases where text messages, social media posts, or voice messages ended up hurting someone in a big way in court.

How to Handle Emotions During Your Divorce

If you have a short fuse with the person you’re divorcing, there are some things that you can do to avoid saying or typing things that you shouldn’t so that you don’t end up giving them ammunition to use against you in court. 

Some ways to handle tense situations include:

• Write Out What You’re Going To Say: Use the notes app on your phone to write out what you really want to say about a situation. Let it all fly! Get mad. Get personal. Get it all out of your system. Then delete it. Only after you’ve had a chance to safely vent and work through your emotions should you compose the real text you’re going to send. Then you can compose a calm and rational response to whatever the situation is.
• Ask Someone To Read Your Text First: Not sure if something you’re about to send is something that could come back to bite you late on? Have someone else read it first. A friend, a family member, or your divorce attorney can all read through texts or emails, or even social media posts to make sure there’s nothing inflammatory or inappropriate in them before you send them or post them.
• Wait To Respond: Before you respond, give it some time. Ideally, give it a day and sleep on it. Give yourself time to cool off and compose yourself before you respond to things.
• What if The Damage Is Already Done? If you have already responded to your spouse with some less than flattering texts or voice messages, it’s not too late to save face for the court. Talk with your divorce lawyer as soon as possible to discuss what’s already out there and options to minimize the damage.

Contact Diamond Legal today

Diamond Legal family law attorneys know that people often say things in the heat of the moment that they regret later on during divorce. We can work with you to make sure that your texts and messages don’t ruin your chances to get what you deserve in court. Our team at Diamond Legal are here, not only as your attorneys, but also as your coaches to help you through this stressful time. Contact us today to get started.

DISCLAIMER: Any information contained herein is solely for informational purposes. While it is important that you educate yourself, nothing herein should be construed as legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. For specific questions, we urge you to contact a local attorney for advice pertaining to your specific legal needs.