Andrew Soshnick Comments on Facebook Evidence in Divorce Cases

Social networking sites, remarkable for their candor and often protected by lax security, have become treasure troves of dirty laundry that increasingly are aired, or are threatened to be aired, as couples divorce, the Indianapolis Star reported in its story, "Websites Can Play Role in Divorce Cases."

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in a recent survey found that 81 percent of its members have had cases where information from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or other such sites was a factor, according to the story. Previously, lawyers got the skinny on their opponents by hiring private detectives or obtaining phone records.

Indiana is a so-called no-fault divorce state, meaning there is no legal penalty for extramarital affairs, the Indianapolis Star story reported.

"Unless you can tie (an affair) to dissipation of marital moneys, it doesn't help you in terms of having evidence," Andrew Soshnick of Baker & Daniels told the Indianapolis Star.

But if there is a link, the story said, social networking can expose it. Soshnick has seen an opposing attorney's client boasting on Facebook of spending "significant amounts of money on jewelry and travel with a paramour," having forgotten to de-friend his soon-to-be ex-spouse.