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Facebook may out father trying to dodge child support

On Behalf of | Dec 13, 2012 | Family Law

In Texas, the terms of a divorce can be modified under certain circumstances. If a spouse remarries, if a parent relocates, if a child turns 18 or there is a significant change in a spouse’s income there can be grounds for modification of alimony or child support payments that are court ordered.

Particularly in this economy, many individuals are out of a job, which could mean that they genuinely are unable to make their child support payments. However, there are also spouses that are angry with their ex and choose not to make child support payments. This is unfair primarily to the child, but regardless, this choice can be met with consequences.

One out-of-state father has requested a court allow him to stop making child support payments because he is unable to find a job. Further, the man appears to owe thousands in back payments. Issued as evidence against the father is his Facebook profile. First, there is a picture of him with a substantial sum of cash and a comment about how much money he has. Second, there is a picture of him in Europe.

The court very reasonably questioned why this father feels he is unable to make his payments when he flaunts cash and takes vacations. The father says the money does not belong to him, and that the photo was taken with an application on his phone that made him look like he was in front of Buckingham palace, but really he was not there.

It will be up to the judge to decide if he or she feels the father is being truthful and the implications that decision could have on the child support payments. However, this case reaffirms what we have detailed on this blog before: social media activity can directly impact the proceedings in a family court.

Source: WISN, “Facebook page at center of child-support case,” Dec. 10, 2012

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