These days, Facebook has become a big part of the lives of Maryland residents and others all over the nation. Evidence gleaned from social media websites is even being used to incriminate people. Take the issue of child support, for example. Authorities in different parts of the United States are using evidence from Facebook brags to convict men and woman who have failed to pay their child support.
In one Midwestern case, authorities contacted a man after he failed to meet the court-ordered child support obligation regarding his cancer-ridden son. Allegedly, the man was boasting on Facebook about his financial success and other exorbitant entertainment expenditures. In another child support case, a woman was accused of buying plastic surgery instead of paying her child support. Yet another man was accused of buying an expensive music studio while he failed to meet his child support obligations.
Parents who cannot afford to pay their child support in Maryland can file a petition with the court to have their child support reduced. However, parents who are not paying out of choice can be arrested and held accountable under the law. In the case of a parent who is flaunting his or her financial success on Facebook, that evidence can and will likely be used against them him or her in court.
Maryland courts strive to distinguish between a deadbeat mother or father and an impoverished one, and they tend to hold the deadbeat ones accountable wherever possible. As such, parents who believe that their ex-spouses are purposefully neglecting their child support obligations may have strong cases to recoup the child support they are owed, in addition to legal fees and other litigation costs.
Source: kfor.com, “Parents not paying child support get busted because of Facebook posts” Jul. 18, 2014
