Many people probably think of prenuptial agreements as documents that just deal with asset division. However, there are actually a great number of different things such agreements can regard. The list of terms prenuptial agreements sometimes include is quite long, and it continues to grow as new types of concerns arise for marrying couples in our ever-changing world.
One major change our society has seen in recent years is the rise of social media. Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites make it easier than ever to communicate and share photos and videos on a mass scale. One could see how a person who is getting married might be concerned that this could potentially pose a problem if their marriage eventually breaks up. Divorces can sometimes get ugly and incredibly emotionally charged. If a person were to decide to lash out against their ex-spouse on social media by posting unflattering statements or images, the ex-spouse could potentially suffer rather significant and widespread reputation damage.
In connection to this concern, some marrying couples are now including “social media clauses” in their prenuptial agreements. Such clauses generally put rules in place about what things a couple is prohibited from posting about each other on social media if they eventually divorce. Some of these agreements specify that failure to comply with the rules will result in monetary penalties.
It will be interesting to see how widespread use of these clauses will become and what views courts across the country will take on the enforcement of such clauses.
What is your opinion of social media clauses in prenuptial agreements?
As this new development underscores, prenuptial agreements can be tailored to address all manner of different concerns a couple going into a marriage has about what will happen if a divorce occurs. The drafting of a well-tailored prenuptial agreement is something that family law attorneys can help individuals with.
Source: Fox News, “Prenups evolving to include new ‘social media clause’,” Kyle Rothenberg, June 22. 2014