In Washington state and elsewhere, family law cases often involve the use of information revealed on Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites. Those who are in the midst of divorce or child custody proceedings are often wise to be prudent about their social media use.

Often, a blog entry, or something posted onto a Facebook status, or even photos can be scrutinized during family law cases. Sometimes the other party may attempt to use these things as evidence in alimony, child support or custody battles.

A survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers taken in 2010 revealed that 81 percent of the nation's divorce attorneys have culled evidence from social networking sites for use during divorce proceedings. The sources of this evidence included Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and other social media websites.

Judges typically determine admissibility of social media evidence on a case-by-case basis, but in general, be warned that most of what you post onto a social media website may be public information. This is why it is wise to be careful about who you allow to be your friends on the sites, and what information you share. Remember to be aware that a social media site is a public forum, in a way, and you may be wise to choose to represent yourself on these sites in only your best light.

There have also been some cases where someone creates a false Facebook account to glean information about the other party, or to make the other party look bad to a judge.

A case took place in California in November after a father started a Facebook account under an alias in order to gather evidence against his ex-wife. The woman sent him explicit videos through the account, which their 8-year-old daughter had filmed. The man thought that this evidence would work in his favor at a custody proceeding, but contrarily, child welfare services were appalled that the man deceived the woman and that he continued this action even when he knew his daughter was involved, and the children were removed from both parents.

While this case is very unusual, it is best to discuss how to handle social media with your family law attorney, as issues vary in each case.

Source: Forbes, "How Not To Use Facebook To Get Custody Of Your Kids," Kashmir Hill, Nov. 18, 2011

Source: MainStreet.com, "Why Divorce Lawyers Love Facebook," July 5, 2010