Child Custody | Surveillance | Divorce

Houston Child Custody / Divorce Investigations / Violations of Court Order Evidence since 1998 – If there are children involved in your divorce, evidence of adultery (cheating), violating a restraining order, not following a custody agreement, or placing the child in a dangerous situation can help you win a favorable settlement in court for both division of assets/property and child custody. If you are having doubts, instead of trying to figure it out on your own, (and risk getting caught), it’s always better to hire a professional. Often we can find out what’s going on in just a few days.

Typically, Surveillance is needed in order to find out what someone is up to. We can watch your soon to be Ex for a few hours or a few days.  We can conduct activity checks at their location to see who is present when the child is there or how the Ex acts when the child is gone.  We can log all visitors and run background checks to see the types of people who are around your child when your Ex has custody.

One of the easiest things to catch people doing is violating the temporary court orders once a divorce has been filed. Most temporary restraining orders are cookie cutter types, with the same stipulations. Most notably, the ones when children are involved have to do with opposite sex visitations, sleepovers, and the right of first refusal.  The temporary orders will often state that no one with whom you are having a sexual relationship is allowed to be around the children after 8pm and before 8am, (or some other range). The times may vary, but it usually means no overnight stays with the boyfriend/girlfriend when they have custody of the children. This is the one rule that almost always gets broken. They usually start out following them, but often will break them after a month or two. Many divorces happen because the spouse has found a new lover, and not being able to see this new flame at night is just too hard for them. They might also be trying to introduce the “new” mommy or daddy to the children and get them used to the new person in their life. Couples who have children that are younger, at the age where they can’t tattle on Mommy or Daddy, will be the ones who violate this the most.

If the ex spouse has custody and wants a sleep over or a weekend trip away, they may leave the child with a baby sitter or relative so that they don’t violate the order, but if you have the right of first refusal in effect, they might still be in violation. What is the “Right of First Refusal”? This basically states that if the parent with custody is going to be away from the child for more than a certain number of hours, they have to notify the other spouse and give them the choice of watching their child until the spouse returns. This time can be anywhere from a few hours to 24 hours or more. The amount of time stipulated might depend on if there are any other adult family members living in the same household at the time, (like if they also live with Grandparents). I have caught many parents leaving their children with friends, family, day cares, etc for 8 or more hours when they were supposed to notify the other parent if it was longer than four hours.

All of these violations can potentially help you in court and prove that your Ex is putting the child in an unsafe environment.

In addition to Surveillance, you might also want/need:

• Internet Investigation
• Background Checks
• Computer forensics
• Lie Detector / Polygraph
• Vehicle Ownership Searches
• Phone Number Research
• Tracking Device (can be hidden in backpacks, suitcases, car seats, etc.)

Feel free to give us a call to discuss your case at no charge.