By Danielle Borg, Associate

A recent article was published by Fox News about the consequences of Kanye West’s actions in his divorce with Kim Kardashian. It considered the impact in custody proceedings in America of Kanye’s disparaging social media posts about Kim’s new partner, which is not too dissimilar in Australia.

As family lawyers we are constantly advising our clients not to post disparaging remarks about the other parent on social media. Parents need to be extremely careful about what they post, as it can be tendered into evidence in parenting proceedings. When deciding who should be the primary carer of the children, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (“the Court”) will consider what parent is most likely to continue to facilitate a relationship between the child and the other parent. When social media posts, similar to the ones made by Kanye, are admitted into evidence, the parent’s conduct and their ability to foster a relationship is scrutinised.

When making parenting orders, the Court also considers what is in the child’s best interests. Separation is a difficult time for a child and being exposed to continual conflict between parents and coming across degrading social media posts is not in the child’s bests interests. A parent may be criticised by the Court about their lack of insight into the psychological harm they can cause to their child if the child is exposed to this type of behaviour.

Unfortunately, as there are many parents out there that have made the same mistake as Kanye, it has now become more common for the Court to make orders restraining a parent from denigrating the other parent (including their new partners and family members) on social media. It is hoped such an order will discourage a parent from making disparaging social media posts as there can be consequences for a parent who breaches an order.

If there is one thing to take away from this piece, it is to consider the consequences of your social media posts.

The article originally published by Fox News and reproduced by News.com.au can be found here: https://apple.news/ABwY2q1oLT0OSlRrUxHP7sQ