Last week a New York Supreme Court judge made a controversial ruling in a matrimonial case in which an upstate man decided to call off his wedding with his fiancée by text message. The judge ruled that the woman would get to keep her 2.97 carat diamond engagement ring, valued at over $50,000, despite New York's established legal precedent that grooms have a right to the ring back if the wedding does not place, regardless of which party got cold feet (you can find more information about that in my Love and Warfare blogpost found here.
In this particular case, the groom texted the bride to call off the wedding. When the bride protested about the method of the breakup, the groom replied by saying "Plus you get a $50,000 parting ring. Enough for a down payment on a house." This statement came back to haunt the groom when the Judge ruled that his statement counted as a formal acknowledgement that the ring was a parting gift intended for the bride to keep.
Stories like this drive home the potential dangers of technology when dealing with legal matters. You should keep in mind that things that you say in text messages, Facebook updates, tweets and an array of other forms of instant communication can and potentially will be used against you in Court. You can read the letter I give to clients about smart social media usage here and find more information on how social media can affect your divorce here.
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