Divorce Investigations
Do you suspect your spouse is cheating on you?
A private detective can look into the situation if you suspect your spouse is unfaithful. A variety of techniques can be used by a private eye to prove a claim of infidelity. Pictures, video, hotel bills, witness interrogations, recorded conversations, and computer files might be included in the evidence collected over the course of your divorce investigation. We might even use GPS tracking to monitor the location of your jointly owned vehicle(s).
In at-fault divorce states like Maryland and Virginia, a spouse who files for divorce because of infidelity often receives a larger portion of the property. They might also be awarded compensation for expenses incurred due to the infidelity, like legal and investigatory fees. It's possible that your cheating spouse might end up paying the cost of your divorce investigation!
In no-fault divorce states, community property is to be divided evenly between husband and wife. There is no need to prove infidelity or misconduct during the divorce process. But in many cases, one spouse may attempt to hide assets to avoid splitting them. A private investigator can delve into your finances and discover hidden assets such as private bank accounts, unreported income, travelers' checks, false payments, retirement accounts, and more. A divorce investigation may also be necessary to prove that your spouse squandered marital property and should not be awarded half of what remains.
Divorce Investigation Services
Evidence of Adultery
But there's also circumstantial evidence that can act as proof. This type of evidence will need to show that the cheating spouse had the chance to commit adultery and the disposition to do so.
There are many ways to prove to your spouse that you’re more than just friends. It might include photographs of the couple being affectionate in public, chat logs about their affair, or an overnight of opportunity. Circumstantial evidence is not as strong as direct evidence, but it can be effectively gathered and presented to prove your case. Our Divorce Investigations will leave no stone unturned.
Asset Search
Individuals may try to hide assets in a number of ways. They may pay off purported loans to friends and families who are actually holding funds for the spouse until after the divorce. After a divorce hearing, they may sell property at a discounted price. Personal property may be moved to hidden storage facilities. Private investigators look through a lot of databases to try and find such assets.
If there are business assets that are not being disclosed, Private Investigators may search for them in SEC and Secretary of State files. They can look through the documents that clients give to find charges or transactions that point to hidden assets. Divorce lawyers can use the information fromn our divorce investigations to request documents during the divorce proceedings in order for their clients to get their fair share. Courts in some states can award the entire value of an asset to the innocent spouse if there is fraud used to hide it.
It's not unusual for some of these same techniques to be used to hide income from alimony and child support payments, as well. If you don't think your former spouse is paying their fair share of the divorce agreement, we can help track down those hidden assets.
Child Custody
Legal Investigations, Inc conducts family law investigations for most of the top attorneys in the metropolitan area. We will be happy to provide you with a free consultation and recommendation for an attorney.
Domestic Investigation
Legal Investigations, Inc. has conducted over 4000 domestic cases that have included marital infidelity, child custody matters, and background investigations. All divorce investigations are conducted to ensure effective testimony in court. Photographs and videotape are standard to insure that testimony and evidence will be effective in court. Contact us today to discuss how we can start helping you.
Cohabitation Investigation
Virginia does not recognize common law marriage. However, Virginia law states that if someone is engaging in a romantic relationship that involves cohabitation for a period of a year or more, then that will terminate spousal support payments in Virginia. In such a case, the paying party still must go to court and have a court make a finding that such a relationship exists.
To prove cohabitation, we use surveillance to document the former spouse with their new partner’s activities. Are they coming and going from the residence, as well as their interacting in public? Who legally owns or rents that house? Who else is documented as living there? Our divorce investigations can uncover this information and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether it is from talking with friends, reading news reports, or hearing celebrity gossip, annulments are frequently misunderstood by the party(ies) wishing to obtain one. In Virginia, there are very specific and narrow requirements that must be met for one to obtain an annulment.
They are spilt into two groups, the first being void ab initio marriages. These include:
- Same sex marriage
- Bigamous marriage (marrying another while still being married to someone else)
- Marrying a relative (in Virginia this includes ancestor and descendant; brother and sister whether whole blood, half-blood, or by adoption; and uncles and niece or between aunt and nephew)
- Underage marriage
The second group includes voidable marriages, these include:
- Mental and physical incompetence at the time of marriage
- Marriage to a felon if the other person did not know at time of marriage
- If one person had been without the knowledge of the other, a prostitute
- If mother is with child by another person other than the husband at the time of marriage
- Fraud
- Duress
- Sham marriages-so called “Green Card” marriages
- Marriage in jest (i.e.; Britney Spears)
Void ab initio marriages are thought to be contrary to public policy and the state has an interest in ending the marital relationship. Support and property rights are generally waived if an annulment is granted on void ab initio grounds, not so with an annulment granted on voidable grounds.
Yes. Generally speaking, you have to file for an annulment within 2 years of the date of marriage or you will be barred from seeking an annulment.
A divorce is the dissolution of a legally valid marriage whereas by granting the annulment, the court is saying that the marriage never existed in the first place.
Each state has unique grounds in which a divorce may be granted by the court. When choosing the grounds for your divorce, you should always remember that you must have sufficient proof to the court that your marital situation warrants a divorce by the grounds you are requesting the divorce to be granted.
The Grounds for Divorce Are as Follows: (Code of Virginia; Title 20, Section 20-91)
- No-Fault
- Living separate and apart without cohabitation for 1 year, or
- Living separate and apart without cohabitation for 6 months if there are no minor children and the spouses have entered into a separation agreement.
- General
- Adultery (including homosexual acts)
- Abandonment
- Conviction of a felony and imprisonment for 1 year
- Cruelty
- Willful desertion
If you do not fall under any of the above mentioned grounds for divorce/dissolution, you most likely should consider trying to save your marriage. Many spouses find that they do not meet the requirements of a waiting period, which can be very frustrating, but it is these waiting periods that are in effect in order to help prevent rash decisions to terminate a marriage.
Each state has unique grounds in which a divorce may be granted by the court. When choosing the grounds for your divorce, you should always remember that you must have sufficient proof to the court that your marital situation warrants a divorce by the grounds you are requesting the divorce to be granted.
The Grounds for Divorce Are as Follows; (Annotated Code of Maryland; Family Law, Section 7-103)
- No-Fault
- The spouses have voluntarily lived separate and apart for 1 year without interruption or cohabitation and there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation, or
- The spouses have lived separate and apart without interruption for 2 years
- General
- Adultery
- Deliberate desertion for 12 months with no chance for reconciliation
- Confinement for incurable insanity of at least 3 years
- Conviction of a felony or a misdemeanor with at least a 3 year sentence and after 1 year having been served
- Cruelty, with no chance for reconciliation
- Vicious conduct, with no chance for reconciliation
If you do not fall under any of the above mentioned grounds for divorce/dissolution, you most likely should consider trying to save your marriage. Many spouses find that they do not meet the requirements of a waiting period, which can be very frustrating, but it is these waiting periods that are in effect in order to help prevent rash decisions to terminate a marriage.
In order to file for divorce in the District, residency requirements must be met for the court to accept the case. If the court discovers it does not have jurisdiction rights the case will not be accepted or dismissed. The following requirements are as follows:
Either spouse must be a resident for at least 6 months prior to filing for divorce. All active military members that are stationed in the District are considered residents as long as they have been stationed for at least 6 months. (District of Columbia Code-Title16-Chapter 9-Sections:902).
A divorce will be granted by the court on the following grounds:
- No-Fault
- Mutual voluntary separation without cohabitation for 6 months.
- Living separate and apart without cohabitation for 1 year. “Living separate and apart” may be accomplished under the same roof, if the spouses do not share bed or food.
- Fault
- Mutual voluntary separation without cohabitation for 6 months.
- Living separate and apart without cohabitation for 1 year are the only grounds for divorce in Washington D.C. (District of Columbia Code-Title 16-Chapter 9-Sections: 904, 905, 906).
If you do not fall under any of the above mentioned grounds for divorce/dissolution, you most likely should consider trying to save your marriage. Many spouses find that they do not meet the requirements of a waiting period, which can be very frustrating, but it is these waiting periods that are in effect in order to help prevent rash decisions to terminate a marriage.