USAToday just published an article about the increasing use of Facebook and other social networking sites in divorce cases.  That really doesn’t take a genius to figure out.  Guy denies affair.  Girlfriend posts pictures.  From an evidentiary perspective, that’s sweet.

So, are there any Bankruptcy Trustees routinely searching for Debtors online?  I doubt it — at least in most cases.  However, that doesn’t mean that a Bankruptcy Trustee won’t just happen to search for something else — maybe, a lake house for himself; and run across a familiar name.  More significantly, I would expect Trustees to start searching Social networking sites in cases where they suspect something is amiss.  Cases where maybe the income history and the asset/spending pattern from the schedules don’t seem to jive.

Debtors get caught trying to conceal assets in the darnedest ways.  I haven’t heard of a Facebook exposure yet, but I’m sure it is coming.

Elaine