Getting married can involve a significant amount of planning and preparation. While your focus may be on the catering, guests, or flowers, you should also consider the legal preparations you should be making. While you are legally required to obtain a marriage license and have a proper officiant ready to perform the ceremony, there are additional legal issues you may want to consider, including a prenuptial agreement.
A prenuptial agreement can address many issues in the event of a divorce. While this may not seem like the most romantic gesture, signing a prenuptial agreement can serve to prevent costly disputes during the divorce process. Prenuptial agreements may include many different terms involving many different aspects of your divorce, from property division to spousal support and more. One clause that has been commonly included in modern prenuptial agreements is a “social media clause.”
In recent times, many people are known for airing their grievances and personal business across social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter for hundreds–if not thousands–of friends, family, and followers to see. In addition, some posts can go viral and can reach millions of people in only a matter of days. In many divorce cases, spouses may be hurt, angry, or even vengeful and may be tempted to go on social media to reveal secrets, spread rumors, or generally cause damage to their spouse’s reputation. Some people may even post personal communications such as text messages online. Such social media activity may not only affect the victim’s reputation but also their emotional health, professional life, and even the divorce case itself.
Including a social media clause in your prenuptial agreement can limit each spouse’s ability to post certain things on social media during a divorce. If someone violates the agreement, they may face legal penalties and the court overseeing the divorce may take the violation into account when making its decisions. Whether a social media clause is right for you depends on many different factors and you should discuss this with your spouse and with an experienced family law attorney when you are discussing a prenuptial agreement.
Call for a Consultation with a Philadelphia Family Law Attorney
Many couples fail to consider a prenuptial agreement because they believe it means they are planning for the possibility that their marriage to ultimately fail. However, these agreements simply provide legal protections and have benefitted many divorcing couples. If you would like more information regarding prenuptial agreements, please call (215) 515-8464 for the Philadelphia family attorneys at the Law Office of Smith & Horwitz for a consultation today.