Whether amicable or not, divorce is difficult. A failure to act wisely can impact both your personal and professional reputation. This can have a negative impact on your transition into post-divorce life.
You can help to better ensure a smooth transition with a proactive approach. These tips can help to better ensure you get through the divorce with your reputation intact:
- Manage social media. It is generally best to refrain from posting about the divorce on social media. In addition to the fact that information on Facebook, Twitter and other outlets will likely get back to your future ex, these posts can also serve as evidence in court.
- Deflect. People will ask how the divorce is going. Although they may have the best of intentions, it is wise not to share too much information. Prepare an answer so you do not feel blindsided by the question and inadvertently say something that could cause more damage. For example, if a casual acquaintance asks about the divorce state something along the lines of “It has been hard, but I am getting through it. Thanks for asking.” Then change the subject to a different topic.
- Plan. Know that court pleadings can become public record. The public can request information about the divorce from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
It is possible to keep information private, but it takes a proactive approach. Discuss a plan with an attorney to better ensure the details are kept from public scrutiny. In some cases, a proactive approach to keep a future ex from causing further damage is also warranted. Legal tools like an injunction or restraining order can help.
