Electronically stored information is digital evidence — emails, text messages, social media posts, cloud storage files, app data, metadata, financial platform records, and other electronically maintained information — that may be relevant in a family law case.

ESI preservation matters from the beginning of any anticipated litigation. Deleting text messages or emails after a divorce is contemplated can constitute spoliation. Many people do not realize that deleted content can often be recovered from device backups, cloud accounts, or carrier records.

ESI is increasingly central to family law cases. Text message exchanges about parenting decisions, financial transactions through payment apps, and communications that reveal hidden assets or relationship dynamics are all potentially discoverable and admissible.