"FAMILY LAW MATTERS: OBTAINING EVIDENCE."

By Marc A. Garza, P.I.

          The most common legal actions filed in California are Family Law matters. This can be a divorce (dissolution), requests for spousal support, child support, child visitation orders or modifications, legal separations, annulments, and restraining order filings.

          All family law cases require careful and adequate legal counsel to assist through the process, especially if your case is contested, meaning there are issues of child visitation, child custody, child support, spousal support; and the division of property and assets. In all cases, I always recommend that a client speak with a qualified attorney regarding their specific case to protect their community property rights and/or be informed regarding potential issues in their case.

         An investigator with the guidance of legal counsel, can assist by obtaining information on assets, conducting co-habitation investigations, obtain evidence for child custody and visitation issues; obtain evidence to disprove allegations in statements and declarations filed in court by opposing counsel; and obtain evidence on a person’s life-style, such as illegal drug use and criminal activity.

       Recently, our agency assisted a client that was paying thousands of dollars a month in spousal support. In California, a modification to spousal support can be made if there is evidence of “co-habitation”, meaning the couple is living together AND there is a romantic relationship. The client received information that his ex-wife was living with another man. The client required evidence to show his ex-wife was living with and had a romantic relationship with the man. The ex-wife had previously testified in court that she was not living with anyone.

       My team was able to obtain corroborating evidence through surveillance and photographic evidence to show that another male was living with the ex-wife and was in a romantic relationship. The evidence was submitted to the client’s attorney and was used successfully in family court to modify the current spousal support order.

CONCLUSION:

       Using a trusted investigator can solidify your family law case, by acquiring evidence to support or disprove points in an ongoing family law case.