Maybe. Each case in the family court is different with different circumstances. There are many times when hiring a private investigator can have a significant impact on the outcome.
However, a private investigator can be expensive. Sometimes a private investigator can capture some bad behavior by the other party. But if that bad behavior doesn’t help your case, what is the point? You have just spent money without strengthening your case.
Family Law Areas Where an Investigator May Be Useful
Let’s look at two areas where some of our clients have gained an advantage in the past by hiring investigators:
Custody Cases
A private investigator can prove one parent is living a party lifestyle, such as coming and going at all hours of the night, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse. This kind of behavior could certainly have an impact on a custody case. Or you may suspect that the other parent is exposing your children to a person who should not be around them. A private investigator may be able to prove how often your kids are in the company of this bad influence. All of these things could have an impact on a custody case.
Adultery
Adultery is one of the fault grounds South Carolina allows by which a person can get a divorce. Being able to achieve a fault ground divorce may allow you to get through the process faster. Fault ground divorces can be obtained after 90 days, while no-fault divorces take much longer. However, in practice we find that fault-based divorces often take longer than 90 days, because the spouses need a longer period to resolve the issues between them.
One of the primary reasons people hire private investigators to look for evidence of adultery, is that adultery almost always bars the adulterer from receiving alimony. If you have alimony exposure, it is well worth it to prove adultery. Paying a private investigator several thousand dollars could save you tens—if not hundreds of thousands—of dollars over a lifetime.
While these are some of the most common reasons people hire private investigators, there are others, such as for uncovering financial evidence. Perhaps you believe your spouse is wasting marital money at a casino. Maybe your spouse claims he can’t work, so he can’t pay as much support as you need; a private investigator may reveal that not only can he work, he is working and simply not reporting the income.
For many reasons a private investigator may be helpful. But just as you exercise great care when you choose your lawyer, so too it’s important to be selective in hiring a private investigator. You should not be penny-wise and pound-foolish. You don’t want to try to save a thousand dollars by hiring a cut-rate private investigator, only to later find he can’t get the job done, and you’re left to pay alimony.
If you are going through a divorce and need to discuss it with an attorney, please do not hesitate to contact the lawyers at Holland & Usry, P.A. toll-free at 888.230.1841 for your confidential consultation.
