20 Aug Divorce Claims Likely to Skyrocket in Wake of Ashley Madison Hack

With the site whose tagline is “Life is short – have an affair” now compromised, a lot of marriages could be a lot shorter, too. Hackers released personal details of nearly 40 million Ashley Madison users Tuesday, and media outlets like The Huffington Post are reporting that divorce lawyers are already preparing for what one attorney has called a “tsunami” of probable claims.

Hackers released information including names, physical addresses, email addresses, and partial credit card numbers for millions of users registered to AshleyMadison.com. Billing itself “100% discreet,” the site is a platform for married people to arrange extramarital activity without the knowledge of their spouses.

The Ashley Madison hack and data dump is a criminal act that invaded the privacy of millions of users. However, the breach does illustrate an increasingly important lesson about divorce in an era dominated by the Internet.

Whether it’s a public-facing post on a social media network like Facebook or sensitive information provided to a website promising discretion and privacy, virtually no information you post online is truly secure. If incriminating information from the Web comes to light during a divorce proceeding, your spouse and his or her attorney could very well use it against you.

Adultery is one of the fault grounds in New Jersey divorce cases. A judge can take allegations of fault into account when determining the allocation of spousal support and other matters at issue in the proceedings.

If you are pursuing or facing a fault-based divorce, you need the assistance of an experienced family lawyer who can ensure that your rights are protected. Please contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey M. Bloom online or call (855) 208-3650 to arrange an initial consultation. Mr. Bloom serves clients throughout Bergen County and Hudson County in New Jersey.