Any documents - digital or otherwise - used in a court of law must be obtained legally. Electronic communication shared between the two parties is of course admissible, as the sender and receiver of such messages have rights to their own messages, but other situations can be a bit less clear. In many cases, spouses have shared access to a personal computer, and if one party can prove that their access to incriminating messages is legitimate, those messages can then be submitted as evidence. In some instances, even eye-witness accounts of a spouse sending inappropriate messages is admissible, but determining the validity of such claims is up to the judge. Scenarios such as joint social media accounts, shared email addresses, even reasonable expectations of non-privacy (such as open documents on a shared device, etc.) are all taken into account here as well. If, however, a couple is already separated or messages are intercepted in some nefarious way, they will almost certainly not be accepted as evidence, and may in fact hurt the claims of the individual submitting them. The general rule of thumb is that electronic communication - including text messages, emails, and social media DMs - can be used as evidence in divorce proceedings, but the risks associated with unlawful acquisition of such communication should be taken very seriously. If these scenarios apply to your divorce case, speak with your attorney about the messages you have access to and get their advice before making motions or submitting as evidence. You'll want to make sure the information you have helps your case, and doesn't create trouble because of the way the information was obtained.