As more people become comfortable with sharing their lives through social media outlets, a greater number of clandestine revelations are used in divorce and child custody proceedings. According to a survey of divorce attorneys conducted by the American Association of Matrimonial Attorneys, more than 80 percent of divorces involve some type of evidence found on Facebook or some other type of social media outlet.

There are thousands of "you can't make this stuff up" gaffes on social media sites where people reveal more of themselves, only to have such information come back to haunt them in court. A recent msnbc.com report highlights a few glaring examples:

•· Husband goes on Match.com and declares that he is single, and has no children while seeking primary custody of his actual children.

•· Husband denies anger management issues but describes in his "write something about yourself" section of Facebook: "If you have the balls to get in my face, I'll kick your ass into submission."

•· Mom denies in court that she smokes marijuana but posts partying, pot-smoking photos of herself on Facebook.

Facebook is by far the leader in producing evidence of infidelity or incriminating statements. Sixty-six percent of the lawyers surveyed cited Facebook as a source of online evidence. Fifteen percent cited MySpace, and five percent listed Twitter feeds to find evidence.

Many people do not realize that what they put on Facebook is permanent, even though they may close their page or delete comments later. Moreover, they don't appreciate that such information is discoverable. Simply put, there is no right of privacy in a public social media forum. Because of this, the best rule of thumb to follow is that if you don't want a judge seeing something about your lifestyle or past escapades, do not post it on Facebook.

Source: MSNBC, "Facebook is Divorce Lawyer's New Best Friend" Leanne Italie, June 28, 2010