Wired Magazine printed a short article on the use of text messages in divorce cases. The article is on page 28 of the August 2009 Issue.
The articles quotes Gabriel Cheong, a Boston divorce lawyer as follows: “In most states, the conduct of the parties during marriage is determinative of property division in a divorce.” That is not a correct statement with regard to Oregon Law. In Oregon, the conduct of the parties does not affect asset division, with the exception of a party hiding or wasting assets. Where text messages can be valuable is in parenting time or custody proceedings. In the past letters would be used as evidence against a party. As we move further forward with technology Facebook wall writing and text messaging are starting to be used in trials. The lesson of this story is to be careful with your texts.
