Divorce via Facebook?! You better believe this one. CNet reported that a judge has allowed Brooklyn resident, Ellanora Baidoo to send her husband divorce documents via a social media PM. The article stated that Matthew Cooper, a Manhattan Supreme Court Justice, has granted Baidoo's special request. Baidoo's request came in the lieu of unsuccessful attempts to contact husband, Victor Sena Blood-Dzraku.
As Fox News reported, Cooper said that Baidoo was "granted permission to serve defendant divorce summons using a private message through Facebook."
In case you don't know, facilitating legal proceedings in Facebook is not uncommon in the United States. Just the previous year, a man was approved in sending over documents in relation to child support payments in Facebook. It is important to note, though, that facilitating legal proceedings are more practiced overseas. Some country laws even allow legal divorce proceedings via text message conversations.
Andrew Spinnelli, Baidoo's attorney, is allegedly going to go through the following procedures to facilitate the divorce proceedings for his client, as documented in records filed in court:
- Send a private message to Blood-Dzraku once a week in a three-week timeframe, or
- This private message will cease delivery to Baidoo's husband until such time Blood responds in acknowledgment.
Spinnelli sent the first weekly PM to Blood via Facebook the previous week. But, Spinnelli said that, "So far, he hasn't responded."
Word has it that Blood's whereabouts remain a mystery due to his unemployment and frequent changes in residential address. The soon-to-be divorced couple has been in touch on the phone and social media platforms but Blood has not taken on being in person to accept the divorce proceedings request from Baidoo.
Baidoo's attorney said that his client's marriage to Blood in a 2009 civil ceremony was not appropriately consumed. Spinnelli stated that the pair never lived in the same roof throughout their marriage. Spinnelli expressed his opinions in favor of the divorce proceedings via Facebook, as reported in The Business Insider: "I think it's new law, and it's necessary."
Spinnelli shared the experiences that gave rise to Baidoo's decision to divorce her husband in Facebook, saying, "We tried everything, including hiring a private detective."
Legal social media proceedings might revolutionize the uniqueness of doing things moving forward. This latest technology-based feature is just one of the developments in the information technology industry in the second decade of the 21st century. As of date, Facebook has not released its official statement regarding this matter.
