Facebook now crops up in a third of divorce cases over cheating and old flames

Your Facebook timeline could end up as an exhibit in your divorce. A survey of UK law firms' caseloads found the social network surfacing in just over a third of divorce cases — as proof of infidelity, new relationships, and financial dishonesty.

Leeds firm Lake Legal, which examined more than 200 cases, said social media users reconnecting with old flames they'd not heard from in years was a recurring theme. Managing partner Lyn Ayrton described social media as "an ongoing log of our lives": written posts and geo-tagged photos create a record of activities usable in court. A partner boasting about a bonus, a new job, or a holiday might be handing the other side evidence about their true financial position — "at the very least, it could call their credibility into question." One client insisted she was seeing no one new, then posted a housewarming invitation for herself and her boyfriend.

Julian Hawkhead of Stowe Family Law said photos and comments "can be used as evidence of relationships or of a lifestyle which contradicts what people will otherwise try to portray," adding that clients regularly arrive with incriminating material they found themselves in the public domain. His firm's forensic accountants, he said, find "rich pickings" in what a simple Google search reveals about a party's whereabouts and spending.

The warning from both firms: people have little idea how much of their lives is sitting on the internet, waiting to be found "at the touch of a button." In a divorce, the massive public noticeboard cuts both ways.

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Based on reporting by the Daily Mirror, January 2015.