Served & Found

Suspect a cheating spouse in Chandler? What proof can really do

Chandler street at dusk, a spouse wondering whether to hire a private investigator

People call private investigators about infidelity for a very human reason: they want to know. The late nights at the office, the new phone password, the gym membership that suddenly needs evenings and weekends. In a city like Chandler, where a lot of people work long hours at big employers and commute across the Valley, the stories can be plausible for a long time.

Before you hire anyone, it is worth understanding what proof of an affair does, and does not do, under Arizona law. It may change what you ask a private investigator to find.

Arizona does not care who was unfaithful, mostly

For most marriages, Arizona is a no-fault divorce state. Under A.R.S. 25-312, the court grants a dissolution if, among other things, it finds the marriage is "irretrievably broken." You do not have to prove adultery, and the divorce itself does not turn on who strayed. (Covenant marriages have their own rules; ask a lawyer if yours is one.)

So if your only goal is to win the divorce, an affair investigation may not help as much as you hope.

Where it can still matter

Money spent on the affair

When the court divides property under A.R.S. 25-318, it may consider "excessive or abnormal expenditures" and concealment or fraudulent disposition of community property. Hotel bills, gifts, trips and rent for someone else's apartment, paid out of joint money, can fall into that category. A private investigator's documentation of where the money went can support your lawyer's argument for reimbursement.

Children

In legal decision-making and parenting time, the court looks at the child's best interests under A.R.S. 25-403. An affair itself is usually not the issue. But conduct around it can be: leaving young children alone to meet someone, introducing a new partner with a concerning history, drinking and driving with the kids. A private investigator can document facts like those.

Knowing, so you can decide

Many clients do not go to court with the results at all. They want the truth so they can stop wondering and decide what to do next. That is a legitimate reason to hire someone.

What a private investigator does

Most infidelity work is surveillance: following and observing from public places, with time-stamped photos and video and a written log. Restaurants, parking lots, hotel lobbies and public streets are all places where anyone can be seen. A good report says what was observed, not what the private investigator assumes it means.

Private investigators also run background checks on the other person, which can matter a lot if that person will be around your children.

The lines you should not cross either

This is where many people get into trouble before a private investigator is even hired.

GPS trackers

Arizona's stalking statute, A.R.S. 13-2923, includes using a GPS or other electronic device to surveil a specific person without authorization. Putting a tracker on your spouse's car, even one in both your names, can put you on the wrong side of that law. Licensed private investigators will not do it for you either.

Recording calls

Arizona allows recording a conversation with the consent of one party (A.R.S. 13-3012). If you are part of the conversation, you can generally record it. Secretly recording your spouse's calls with someone else, or leaving a voice-activated recorder in the car, is interception without consent under A.R.S. 13-3005. That is a felony.

Phones and accounts

Reading your spouse's phone or logging into their email or social media without permission can create legal problems and can make evidence unusable. Talk to your lawyer before you go looking.

Hidden cameras in private places

A.R.S. 13-3019 makes it a crime to secretly film someone in places like bedrooms and bathrooms in the situations the law describes. A hidden bedroom camera is far more likely to hurt you than help you.

Before you hire

Think about what you actually need:

Then ask the private investigator how they would approach it, how many days of surveillance they would suggest, and what the report will look like. Surveillance is billed by time and costs add up, so a focused plan beats an open-ended one. Agree on what will happen if they see something that affects the children's safety.

If divorce is likely, talk to a family lawyer first. Family cases in Maricopa County are heard by the Superior Court, including at the Southeast Justice Center in Mesa, and your lawyer can tell you what evidence the judge is likely to care about.

You can browse private investigators in Chandler. Every private investigator listed in Arizona on Served & Found is a member of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators (AALPI), and you can check a license yourself using our Arizona PI license guide. If papers need to be served once you file, see East Valley process servers. The Chandler page has the rest of our local coverage.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whatever you decide, keep a private written note of dates and what you noticed; it is often the first thing a lawyer or private investigator asks for.

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