Given the history between the parties involved, family law cases can become quite complicated in a short amount of time. It’s not uncommon for former partners to make outlandish allegations, making it difficult to parse out the truth of the matter. That’s why when determining how to proceed with cases that fall under the category of family law, the court relies on hard evidence to make their deliberations. At Amatrix Investigations, we are dedicated to securing that evidence to ensure your clients have everything necessary to support their claims.
What Is Family Law?
The term family law refers to all legal practices involving familial relationships, generally referring to the forming or severing of those relationships. For example, marriage and adoption are both considered a part of family law but so are divorce, child custody agreements, and emancipation. While family law is a large umbrella encompassing many different cases, family law claims most often seen in court are regarding the dissolution of marriage and how said dissolution might impact any children born of that marriage.
Subjects usually brought up in such cases include division of marital property, spousal support, child custody, child support, and visitation rights. Experienced private investigators have assisted with a wide variety of cases dealing with all the above and more.
What are Some of the Challenges of Family Law?
When a couple goes through a divorce, there are many steps involved in the process and a variety of factors that can affect the outcome. Unfortunately, this can cause some parties to act in unlawful ways in an attempt to manipulate that outcome. For instance, many couples sign a prenuptial agreement prior to having a wedding. A prenuptial agreement provides clear guidelines that indicate the appropriate course of action if the marriage is dissolved, as well as detailing consequences if the agreement is violated. Fidelity is a common clause in these matters. To avoid any negative repercussions, a former partner might intentionally hide or withhold evidence of any extramarital affairs that could end up costing them the case.
Another way they can interfere is by intentionally hiding or misrepresenting assets that are considered marital property. Marital property is property that was acquired during the marriage and thus is legally owned by both parties. These assets are then divided during the court proceedings. Property owned before the marriage would be considered separate property and would remain with the property owner regardless of how everything else is divided. To secure the ownership of certain items, an individual could hide an asset or attempt to claim it was actually acquired before the marriage.
Allegations of abuse are a serious matter and can heavily alter the outcome of a family law case. Because of their weight in the proceedings, these allegations will generally not be considered by a judge without evidence. This can be beneficial if a former spouse attempts to use false accusations as a way of securing spousal support or sole custody of any shared children. However, if abuse is suspected, whether it involves the spouse or their children, this can be a serious concern. Abusers are often highly motivated to hide any evidence of their behavior, making it difficult to prove in court. Alternatively, false accusers may attempt to fabricate evidence to sway the court in their favor.
With so much potential for deception and evidence tampering, family law cases can remain open and unsettled for long periods of time. Fortunately, a strong legal team with access to a skilled private investigator can help clients navigate through all of these challenges and more.
What Can an Investigator Do For You?
The purpose of a lawyer is to represent their client in legal proceedings. A big part of that involves synthesizing the available evidence into a strong, cohesive argument that proves a client’s side of the case. The purpose of a private investigator is to provide the evidence necessary to build that argument.
Consider the challenges described in a previous section. If someone suspects that their spouse may be engaging in an extramarital affair, contact our office. An investigator can follow up on those suspicions and provide conclusive evidence that proves this is the case. Having that evidence in hand will ensure the spouse is unable to deny allegations of adultery during the claim. An investigator can also uncover potentially hidden assets and prove whether an asset should be considered separate or marital property.
If someone is confronted with false allegations of abuse, an investigator is able to do the necessary research to disprove those claims. Alternatively, investigators can locate records that support claims in situations where domestic violence is occurring, ensuring victims’ safety and the safety of their children.
These are just a few specific examples of situations where having a private investigator on your legal team can be useful. However, even in situations where your former spouse appears to be compliant in court, a private investigator can prove essential to ensuring you are treated fairly in court. Investigators are able to perform thorough background checks to ensure that your spouse is adequately prepared to provide for your child or to reveal that your child would benefit from primarily residing with you instead.
Ultimately, hiring a private investigator will strengthen your case. Investigators can provide clear documentation supporting any claims made in court, showing that you are a reliable, trustworthy, law-abiding individual, and increasing your chances of achieving favorable resolution.
Working With Amatrix Investigations
At Amatrix Investigations, our investigators have years of experience handling extremely sensitive cases. Our investigators have previously worked in law enforcement and intelligence and understand that family law cases can be particularly painful. That is why these cases are treated with the utmost professionalism; our sole focus is to help provide your legal team with as much context as possible to provide a compelling argument on your behalf. For a free consultation, simply fill out our online form or contact us by calling (213) 342-1767.
