Today, social media is quite literally everywhere. Television commercials, movie trailers, product labels, and even roadside billboards list Facebook pages, Twitter handles, and Instagram accounts for people, brands, and companies. Of course, this is simply a reflection of the culture itself, as most of us know at least a few people who are quick to share virtually any experience to their social media feeds. When a person is going through a divorce, however, social media can present some unexpected dangers. If you are a regular user of social media networks, there are some things you should keep in mind during the divorce process.

Image Matters

Social media sites are appealing because they allow users to create sort of an alternate version of themselves. For example, a person’s Instagram account is likely to show photos of the user looking his or her best or celebrating an accomplishment. Rarely does someone post embarrassing stories or unflattering images. While most of us expect there to be some disconnect between a person’s social media persona and real life, the distinction can be especially problematic during a divorce. The biggest problem is the absence of context.

Members of the United States Armed Forces are well trained to expect the unexpected at all points in their careers. However, sometimes the unexpected can affect not only them, but also their spouses and children. Receiving new orders sometimes happens very abruptly, with a minimum of time to make arrangements before shipping out. If you have custody of your children, you may have to act fast to avoid running into trouble.

Your Right to Speak Is Protected

Some spouses will try to file for a parental responsibilities hearing during a deployment or while you are awaiting orders, thinking that with your life in flux, you will be in no position to challenge their wishes. However, in 1940, Congress passed a law now known as the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA), and SCRA grants an automatic stay of any civil proceedings, usually lasting 90 days, but a judge may extend the stay if they believe that it is in the best interests of the child to do so. The rationale is simple: a soldier, especially a soldier deployed on active duty, is almost never in a position to respond appropriately to such an important document as a custody pleading.

There was a time when many thought prenuptial agreements were only for rich celebrities or those who did not have faith in the longevity of their marriage. Today, people realize that prenuptial agreements are not only vital assets in the unfortunate event that a couple splits up or a spouse passes away, but are also tools which can help married couples manage their financial responsibilities while they are still married as well. When creating a prenuptial agreement, one must be careful to draft it in such a way that it holds up in court. Making certain mistakes within a prenuptial agreement can cause it to be considered invalid. In this case, the mandates set forth in the document will not be followed and the document will have been created in vain.

Dishonesty Regarding Assets

One of the major requirements of a valid prenuptial agreement is total transparency with regard to all assets, properties and debts. If a person enters into a prenuptial agreement but does not disclose all of his or her financial information or attempts to hide assets, the document may become useless. If a couple is divorcing and one spouse proves that the other was fraudulent in his or her financial reporting, the prenuptial agreement cannot be used to make decisions regarding spousal maintenance, property division, or family-owned businesses.

The purpose of child support is to help the custodial parent—that is, the parent who has more parenting time—pay the costs associated with raising the child. Although child support is most often paid by the father to the mother, both men and women can be recipients and payers of child support. Support payments can be significant, especially when there is more than one child in the family. Some divorced parents struggle to make child support payments on time and in full. If you are a parent who is currently struggling to pay your court-ordered child support, or if you are a parent considering divorce, you should know that there are options for those struggling to finance their child support payments.

Do Not Just Stop Paying

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 7 million custodial parents are owed child support at any given time. However, only about 3 million of those parents actually receive the full amount they expect. Sometimes deadbeat parents attempt to skip support payments because they simply do not want to pay, but more often, noncustodial parents simply do not have the funds necessary. If you are having trouble making ends meet and paying your child support, the worst thing you can do is to just stop paying. Never cease payments without letting the courts know. Parents who do not pay their court-ordered child support are at risk of having their wages garnished, tax refund withheld, occupational license, business license, or driver’s license revoked, property seized, and ability to get a passport revoked. In extreme cases, a parent who continually refuses to pay child support can even go to jail.

As a general rule, when a couple gets divorced in Illinois, spousal support payments are ordered if one spouse’s income is significantly higher than the other’s, in the interest of equity. However, most of the time, these support payments are not intended to last forever. There are several different ways that spousal support is granted to a husband or wife, and modifications may be made after certain criteria have been fulfilled by the obligor or the obligee (or both), or in certain situations which are provided for in statutory law.

Rehabilitative Maintenance

One situation where spousal support is granted with the express intention that there will come a point when payments will slow or cease entirely is when one spouse requires temporary aid. It is still fairly common for Illinois couples to adhere to the old model of marriage where one spouse is the primary breadwinner and the other stays home with the children. As such, upon divorce, many homemakers have no income and outdated skills, and they cannot just jump back into the workforce. In these types of situations, a court may grant rehabilitative maintenance, also known as reviewable maintenance. This will last for a fixed period, determined by a number of factors, including the size of the income disparity, the length of the marriage, and whether or not any children were born of the marriage.