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Hi everyone, I’m Dr. Michael Mantell with another Family Law Matters with Bonnie Rabinovitch-Mantel who is the owner and the managing partner of Primus Family Law Group. Hi Bonnie. Hi Michael, how are you doing today? I’m doing well.

We’re off into a new year, aren’t we? We are. And with a new year comes all sorts of the latest and greatest technological wizardry that we could never imagine even a year ago. And these things I think are starting to show up in marriage and divorce, specifically tracking devices.

And you have been spending quite a bit of time looking at how these tracking devices impact couples who are in the process of separating and divorcing. Talk a little bit about that. Well, you know, a few years ago, we got into the habit of sending our clients a introductory letter that included, don’t delete your electronically stored information.

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You no longer have the right to do that. It took me now, I’m an old lady, so I didn’t even know what electronically stored information was, you know, but then you realize it’s all your posts on Facebook, all your LinkedIn, your, your, I don’t know, your Hulu, all the stuff that has your information or the things upon which back then it might’ve been MySpace, you were not, you were posting on and you were posting information. And when you’re going through the process of a divorce, you’re not allowed to destroy possible evidence, you know, name calling and this and that, that you may have done posting.

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Well, another thing people do when they’re married is they share apps, applications. They share things that are usually, you know, that can be protective, like various applications, like Life360, or there’s even Apple that will track and get you all connected. So usually when you’re together, it’s for good purposes, you know, making sure somebody’s safe, making sure somebody’s lost, things like that, or, you know, a parent’s nightmare lying in a ditch somewhere.

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But when you’re getting divorced, you have to remember to sever those connections because what was once innocent, Michael, can then be used to actually track your significant other to find out if they’re dating again or where they are with their children or what’s going on. And all of that is impermissible behavior. You know, we have stalking laws, people get restraining orders for actions like this.

So when you’re going through the process of a divorce, people have to be aware of all the things like find my phone, that one’s a big one, you know, that allows you to know exactly where the person is that you no longer have the right to know. Amazing how divorce has become now and meshed with technology. And if people think that they’re tracked or they think maybe I need to turn this off and it’s impacting their life, and they have questions, they can talk with you about it.

You’re not going to give them technical advice, but you’re going to give them legal advice. And if they have questions about this, how can they be in touch with you? Well, they can reach us for legal advice, technical advice, go to Verizon or the Apple Store or some big Best Buy geek. But for legal advice, you can reach out to me directly at 619-574-8000.

And you will be put on my calendar for a free 30 minute phone consultation. Or you can reach us through our website at www.PrimusFamilyLaw.com.