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Speaker 1: You're listening to a mum of mea podcast. Hi, I'm

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Speaker 1: Claire Murphy. This is Mumma MEA's twice daily news podcast,

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Speaker 1: The Quickie. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there's

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Speaker 1: a significant spike in the number of divorces granted here

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Speaker 1: in Australia during the month of November, and there are

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Speaker 1: very practical reasons for that. But if you're one of

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Speaker 1: those who's going through the process of consciously, financially, emotionally

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Speaker 1: and physically uncoupling from your formally significant other, there are

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Speaker 1: a ton of things you need to consider. But have

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Speaker 1: you checked what you posted on social media? Before we

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Speaker 1: get into what things you should definitely not do online

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Speaker 1: when you're transitioning into your new lifestands partner. Here's the

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Speaker 1: letters from the Quickie newsroom for Thursday, November twenty seven.

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Speaker 1: A man has been killed by a falling tree during

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Speaker 1: surging storms that have left tens of thousands of people

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Speaker 1: without power across New South Wales. The seventy six year

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Speaker 1: old died on Wednesday afternoon after being struck by the

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Speaker 1: tree at Glenworth Valley on the New south Ward Central Coast.

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Speaker 1: The town of Nevertire west of Dubbo felt some of

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Speaker 1: the worst of the major storms that are currently blasting

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Speaker 1: eastern Australia, with lightning causing wall collapses on one property

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Speaker 1: and six others losing their rooms. Emergency services have received

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Speaker 1: more than one thousand calls for help across New South Wales,

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Speaker 1: with at least one hundred and twenty thousand homes in

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Speaker 1: New South Wales without power after wind gusts of up

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Speaker 1: to one hundred and nineteen kilometers per hour. Meanwhile, emergency

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Speaker 1: crews were also battling bushfires in Corower on the New

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Speaker 1: South Wales Victorian border and another in the Riverina. Firefighters

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Speaker 1: have been able to contain the Corolla blaze overnight, while

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Speaker 1: they're gaining the upper hand on the Rock fire. Tens

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Speaker 1: of thousands are also without power in Queensland as two

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Speaker 1: consecutive days of superstorms were declared a catastrophic event. The

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Speaker 1: damage bill from the storms is expected to surge into

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Speaker 1: the millions, as the Insurance Council of Australia confirmed claims

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Speaker 1: have reached twenty seven thousand, eight hundred and are continuing

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Speaker 1: to climb. Large parts of Queensland also continue to swelter

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Speaker 1: under head heat wave conditions with temperatures six to ten

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Speaker 1: degrees above the November average. Meanwhile, a cold front moving

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Speaker 1: across southern areas of the country is expected to trigger

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Speaker 1: stormy conditions and damaging winds across parts of South Australia

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Speaker 1: and Victoria. Ex Tropical Cyclone Feena was downgraded overnight but

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Speaker 1: is still impacting the northern parts of Western Australia's Kimberley

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Speaker 1: region with heavy rainfall and the risk of flash flooding.

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Speaker 1: Two years after her murder, the State Coroner will deliver

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Speaker 1: her findings in the death of water polo coach Lily

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Speaker 1: James and the man who killed her. James died after

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Speaker 1: Paul Tyson struck her in the head with a hammer

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Speaker 1: at least twenty five times inside Saint Andrew's Cathedral School

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Speaker 1: in Sydney in October twenty twenty three. The inquest was

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Speaker 1: told that the twenty one year old had ended her

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Speaker 1: casual relationship with her twenty four year old colleague five

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Speaker 1: days earlier, prompting him to stalk her and then plan

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Speaker 1: her murder. The inquest investigated issues such as coercive control

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Speaker 1: and unacceptable behavior and relationships, shining a light on the

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Speaker 1: misuse of technology to digitally monitor partners. When Miss James

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Speaker 1: had previously trying to break up with Tyson, the inquest

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Speaker 1: was told that he'd lashed out with degrading, derogatory and

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Speaker 1: manipulative language in a bid to control her. Tyzan is

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Speaker 1: believed to have taken his own life hours after Miss

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Speaker 1: James's murder. Some experts now believe the Reserve Bank is

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Speaker 1: more likely to hike rates next than cut them after

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Speaker 1: a concerning inflation reading, analysts were blindsided when the Australian

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Speaker 1: Bureau Statistics revealed yesterday the consumer prices rose by a

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Speaker 1: higher than expected three point eight percent in the twelve

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Speaker 1: months to October. The results shook the markets, which up

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Speaker 1: until a few months ago had been expecting the Central

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Speaker 1: Bank to lower the cash rate once or even twice

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Speaker 1: from its current level of three point six percent. Analysts

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Speaker 1: at investment banks Baron, Joey and Ubs tip the Reserve

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Speaker 1: Bank to now raise rates in twenty twenty six, but

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Speaker 1: economists that ain Z and Westpac are still holding onto

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Speaker 1: their predictions for at least one more rate cut in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty six. Robert Irwin has one Dancing with the

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Speaker 1: Stars a decade after his older sister Bindy took the

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Speaker 1: US competition, The twenty one year old conservationist and his

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Speaker 1: professional partner, Whitney Carson, lifted the Mirror Bold Trophy after

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Speaker 1: battling it out against Alex el Jordan Chiles, Elaine Hendrix

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Speaker 1: and Dylan Ephron. Speaking after the result was announced and

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Speaker 1: emotionally overwhelmed her and said, my sister said it best.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for changing my life. That's what's happening around

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Speaker 1: the world today. Next getting divorced or thinking about it,

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Speaker 1: We've got some sage advice on what you really should

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Speaker 1: avoid posting online while you do it. While many couples

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Speaker 1: file for divorce in January after white knuckling it through

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Speaker 1: Christmas for the sake of the kids. Due to the

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Speaker 1: time it takes for couples to get their documents through

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Speaker 1: the court system, and that they have to be legally

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Speaker 1: separated for at least twelve months before they can even apply,

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Speaker 1: there is a spike in divorce finalization in the month

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Speaker 1: of November. Here in Australia. The divorce rate has actually

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Speaker 1: dropped slightly in the country in recent years. Some of

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Speaker 1: that's attributed to the cost of living crisis, I mean,

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Speaker 1: who can afford it? But that November peak means around

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Speaker 1: you right now might be a stack of women either

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Speaker 1: planning their divorce parties or waiting for that final sign off.

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Speaker 1: But before you start celebrating, there are some things you

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Speaker 1: need to be aware of. Things the court might take

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Speaker 1: into consideration when dividing up your assets and custody of

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Speaker 1: the kids, Like the things you post on social media.

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Speaker 1: Associates Solicitor at Atwood Lawyers, Brianna Farrell, joins us on

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Speaker 1: the Cookie Today to break down the do's and don'ts

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Speaker 1: of posting during a separation. Brianna, social media is often

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Speaker 1: referred to when it comes to divorce as the silent witness.

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Speaker 1: Can you just explain what that means?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, of course. I think ordinarily you think of a

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Speaker 2: witness as though someone who can be cross examined, who

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Speaker 2: sits on a stand and gives their testimony. But in

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Speaker 2: circumstances where people are using social media as evidence, we're

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Speaker 2: not seeing a particular person on the stand or to

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Speaker 2: be cross examined. The material that's produced as speaks for itself,

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Speaker 2: and that's why we often refer to it as a

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Speaker 2: silent witness.

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Speaker 1: Well, how seriously do courts actually take the things that

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Speaker 1: we're posting on social media when they are considering all

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Speaker 1: the things like splitting us financially and custody of children, Like,

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Speaker 1: how seriously is the court taking that?

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Speaker 2: I think the court takes all evidence quite seriously. And

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Speaker 2: again it's in the context of and my favorite saying

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Speaker 2: is a lawyer. It absolutely depends in circumstances where one

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Speaker 2: party might be posting an exorbitant lifestyle or extensive travel

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Speaker 2: or hey, maybe we just picked up that new season

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Speaker 2: burkein right, the court might have some serious questions if

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Speaker 2: simultaneously that party is asserting to the court that they

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Speaker 2: have minimal financial means or you're seeking maintenance orders for example.

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Speaker 2: So I think that's when certainly the court might have

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Speaker 2: questions in that situation.

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Speaker 1: I mean, most of us are guilty of making a

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Speaker 1: few things up for social media, making ourselves look happier

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Speaker 1: than we really are or richer than we actually are.

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Speaker 1: Like what if you're not buying that new season Berkin.

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Speaker 1: I don't know anyone who can, but like, say you

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Speaker 1: have a knockoff, or say you have a rental agreement

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Speaker 1: for example, Like do you have to prove all of

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Speaker 1: that if they're using that as evidence.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and it's usually something as simple as a simple

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Speaker 2: explanation that can go a long way, And that's why

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Speaker 2: we have what we call the duty of full and

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Speaker 2: frank financial disclosure. So it's also a way that can

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Speaker 2: be used to defend yourself from these types of allegations.

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Speaker 2: Could be something as simple as disclosing a copy of

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Speaker 2: your lease agreement or giving further particulars about whether the

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Speaker 2: item was a gift from a family member or a friend,

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Speaker 2: or a birthday present. And that's not at all uncommon either.

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Speaker 2: So the court's not there to micromanage everyone or preventing

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Speaker 2: people from living their lives. It's just there is a

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Speaker 2: mechanism to make sure that all parties are adhering to

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Speaker 2: their duties of disclosure and making sure that everyone's being honest.

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Speaker 1: Okay, to delete or not to delete? Do we comb

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Speaker 1: back through our social media when we are looking at

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Speaker 1: divorcing a partner and delete anything that might be taken

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Speaker 1: the wrong way?

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Speaker 2: I think as a matter of practicality, it's important that

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Speaker 2: you refrain from posting anything that could be seen as

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Speaker 2: a dig or denigration of your former spouse. I think

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Speaker 2: we need to remember that our social media is not

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Speaker 2: our diary, and we probably shouldn't be treating our social

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Speaker 2: media like a diary, particularly in the context of a separation. Look,

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Speaker 2: if you wanted to be overly cautious, then absolutely it's

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Speaker 2: best to protect yourself from those allegations. If you think, oh,

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Speaker 2: maybe I shouldn't have posted hindsight is twenty twenty vision,

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Speaker 2: you may as well delete it if you think it's

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Speaker 2: necessary to delete it.

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Speaker 1: Say someone's screenshot it and has it and then you've

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Speaker 1: deleted it. Does that look bad for you?

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Speaker 2: Again? This is one of those situations where context is

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Speaker 2: really important. We all know, we all get frustrated. We're

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Speaker 2: all human beings. Human beings make mistakes in the heat

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Speaker 2: of the moment. If it's a situation where someone says,

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Speaker 2: puts the hand up and says, you know what, I

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Speaker 2: had a moment I posted that. Upon reflection, I probably

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Speaker 2: shouldn't have and I'm very sorry, and I'll refrain from

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Speaker 2: doing so in the future. I've since taken it down.

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Speaker 2: I know it's not appropriate and it won't happen again.

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Speaker 2: And to actually ensure that it doesn't happen again, that's

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Speaker 2: the best way I think you can manage that.

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Speaker 1: What about when it comes to kids, like, say one

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Speaker 1: partner does not want the kids to be posted on

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Speaker 1: social media and the other one does, and say you

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Speaker 1: ignore that and post pictures of the kids anyway? Can

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Speaker 1: they get you into trouble when it comes to dealing

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Speaker 1: with say, visitation or custody matters when it comes to separating.

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Speaker 2: We're finding now more and more that social media is

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Speaker 2: becoming a hot topic in parenting matters, particularly when it

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Speaker 2: comes to our minded children having a digital footprint before

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Speaker 2: they even are able to make these decisions for themselves.

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Speaker 2: If there's no current orders in place providing guidance on

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Speaker 2: how parents should be managing their social media posts and

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Speaker 2: posting of their children, there's not much the court can

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Speaker 2: do to reprimand that parent. But certainly if one parent

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Speaker 2: is concerned about that and has really strong views, then

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Speaker 2: it's up to them to bring forward some conversations around

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Speaker 2: that and seek that scaffolding be put in place. That

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Speaker 2: can be done by mutual consent. If the matter is

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Speaker 2: quite litigious and one parent is feeling quite strongly about that,

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Speaker 2: it's not unheard of to see parents seeking orders from

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Speaker 2: the court to prevent a parent from posting their children

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Speaker 2: on social media.

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Speaker 1: What about if, honey, you mentioned it's probably not a

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Speaker 1: good thing to use your social media as your diary.

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Speaker 1: But for example, you have a bit of a moment

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Speaker 1: and you go on event, but you don't mention any names.

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Speaker 1: Can that still be used as evidence?

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Speaker 2: It can, and it really depends on the amount of

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Speaker 2: detail that is in that post. Even if no names

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Speaker 2: are mentioned, certain details within a post concertately drive and

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Speaker 2: inference to people knowing who it is about, and that

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Speaker 2: can lead a person to hot water.

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Speaker 1: Just the same, should you block your ex from your

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Speaker 1: social media or delete any followers who might be associated

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Speaker 1: with him or her when you're going through a separation.

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Speaker 2: It's honestly a personal preference. In situations where a separation

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Speaker 2: is acrimonious or volatile, or there are safety concerns or

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Speaker 2: any concerns that they'll be monitoring or stalking or surveilling

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Speaker 2: your social media, then of course you should consider blocking

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Speaker 2: your ex spouse and their followers.

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Speaker 1: What about if you are a social media influencer of

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Speaker 1: whatever level that might be, and you are posting about

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Speaker 1: your life, and you're posting about your family and that

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Speaker 1: might include your children. Is there a way to protect

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Speaker 1: that when you're going through a divorce if say, the

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Speaker 1: other partner doesn't want their family to be represented that

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Speaker 1: way anymore, Like do they get a say in that?

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Speaker 2: It always depends if it were a litigated matter. There

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Speaker 2: may be questions around, well, this has been the status

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Speaker 2: quo for some time. It might be quite common for

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Speaker 2: one parent to be posting your family photos at Christmas,

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Speaker 2: involving the children and documenting and detailing their lives. The

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Speaker 2: court will have regard to matters of risk. They'll weigh

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Speaker 2: up the position of each spouse, what each party argues

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Speaker 2: about it, and ultimately a court can make a decision

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Speaker 2: either way.

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Speaker 1: What about the actual social media accounts themselves? What if

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Speaker 1: you have a joint account or you have a family

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Speaker 1: account for example, that someone's been using, say to do

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Speaker 1: brand partnerships or promote certain things. Have we now gotten

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Speaker 1: to a point where it comes to divorce where sometimes

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Speaker 1: they have to be factored in as an asset the

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Speaker 1: social media account.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and particularly a business entity, and so that'll

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Speaker 2: come into the joint property pool for example, and a

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Speaker 2: decision will have to be made as to whether or

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Speaker 2: not one spouse retains that asset. If that is the case.

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Speaker 1: When some people are separated before they divorce, they might

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Speaker 1: start living life a little differently than what they did

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Speaker 1: with they were partnered up, Like maybe they're making some

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Speaker 1: different financial decisions. Maybe they're taking a holiday, maybe they

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Speaker 1: are buying things they wouldn't before, and maybe they're posting

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Speaker 1: about these things on social media where other people can

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Speaker 1: see it. Can that be used as evidence of you

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Speaker 1: using money that should be split up between you when

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Speaker 1: it comes to dividing your financial assets? Like could you

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Speaker 1: be forced to say pay back a holiday that you've

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Speaker 1: spent money on that everyone knows happened because you posted

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Speaker 1: about it online when it comes to dividing your financial

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Speaker 1: assets If.

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Speaker 2: And that's a strong If a court were to consider

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Speaker 2: whether or not those funds should be added back, the

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Speaker 2: next question is, well, should they be added back on

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Speaker 2: a dollar for a dollar basis or should one party

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Speaker 2: end up with a percentage more? And a lot of

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Speaker 2: considerations go into whether or not that decision can be made,

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Speaker 2: such as was the expenditure reasonable in their circumstances and

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Speaker 2: maybe a holiday was reasonable? Did we take the kids,

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Speaker 2: did we plan for a long time was the money

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Speaker 2: used from post separation income.

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Speaker 1: Have you seen social media now playing more of a

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Speaker 1: role when it comes to divorce discussions, like people bringing

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Speaker 1: posts from their exes and showing them and using them

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Speaker 1: as a tool to guide the divorce proceedings? Like are

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Speaker 1: we seeing it more influential when it comes to separating couples.

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Speaker 2: We're certainly seeing an increase of people trying to use

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Speaker 2: social media as evidence in well, in all family law litigation,

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Speaker 2: and that can be in parenting and financial proceedings and

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Speaker 2: also domestic violence proceedings as well. What can start off,

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Speaker 2: as one might sought as a harmless private rant out

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Speaker 2: of pure frustration, and all of a sudden there are

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Speaker 2: now all of these allegations against a party for a

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Speaker 2: myriad of things. It could be that, you know, that

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Speaker 2: girl's trip is now evidence that someone is living above

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Speaker 2: their means or doesn't need maintenance support. And so I

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Speaker 2: think it's just really important that people remember to be

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Speaker 2: careful about what they're posting and who is able to

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Speaker 2: see that content once it's posted. And again, the court

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Speaker 2: will have regard to own a ray of pieces of evidence,

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Speaker 2: and social media, of course, is not the only one

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Speaker 2: a court may place higher regard to bank statements. For example,

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Speaker 2: just be really mindful and careful what you are posting.

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Speaker 2: I think prevention can sometimes be a lot better than

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Speaker 2: the cure later on down the track.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for taking some time to feed your mind with

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Speaker 1: us today. If you've got a free moment or two

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Speaker 1: or send an email to the Quikie at mammamea dot

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Speaker 1: com dot au. The Quikie is produced by me Claire

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Speaker 1: Murphy and Our Group Executive producer Alaria Brophy, with audio

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Speaker 1: production by Lou Hill. Mamma Mea acknowledges the traditional owners

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