Lawyers using smartphone data in divorces

People are using their smart phones for almost everything these days and the evidence is now following them into divorce court.

Ninety-two percent of the nation’s top divorce attorneys say that they have seen an increase in the number of cases using evidence taken from iPhones, Droids, and other smart phones during the past three years, according to a recent survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML).  In addition, 94% of the respondents have cited an overall rise in the use of text messages as evidence during the same time period.

“As smart phones and text messaging become main sources of communication during the course of each day, there will inevitably be more and more evidence that an estranged spouse can collect,” said Ken Altshuler, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. “Text messages can be particularly powerful forms of evidence during a divorce case, because they are written records of someone’s thoughts, actions and intentions.”

Overall, 92% of AAML members cited an increase in the use of evidence taken from smart phones during the past three years, while 8% have said no change.

Also, 94% of respondents have noted an increase in text message evidence during the same amount of time, while 4% have seen a decrease, and 2% observed no change. As far as the most common forms of evidence taken from smart phones, text messages hold the top spot at 62%, emails follow at 23%, phone numbers and call histories at 13%, with GPS and Internet search histories each sharing 1%.