El Mirage custody disputes: when a private investigator helps

Parenting time exchange in an El Mirage area parking lot, relevant to a custody case

El Mirage is a family town. When West Valley parents end up in family court, the homes, schools and exchange points at the centre of the dispute are often right here.

If you are in a custody dispute, you have probably thought about hiring a private investigator. Maybe you think the other parent is drinking before pickups, or leaving the kids with someone you have never met, or not living where they told the court. Sometimes an investigator is exactly what the case needs. Sometimes it is an expensive way to make a judge trust you less.

This is general information. Your family law lawyer should decide whether investigation fits your case, and ideally hire the investigator through their office.

What the judge is actually deciding

Arizona does not use the word "custody" in its statute anymore. The court decides legal decision-making and parenting time, and A.R.S. 25-403 tells it to decide based on the child's best interests. The statute lists factors the judge must consider, including:

The relationship between each parent and the child, past, present and likely future
The child's adjustment to home, school and community
The mental and physical health of everyone involved
Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent, meaningful contact with the other
Whether there has been domestic violence or child abuse

Notice what is not on the list: whether the other parent is a bad partner, has a new boyfriend or spends money foolishly. Evidence matters only if it connects to the child. That is the test every investigation should pass before it starts.

Things a private investigator can document

A licensed private investigator works in public, records what anyone could see, and reports facts with dates and times. In a custody case that might be:

Where the other parent actually lives, if that is in dispute. Someone who claims a house near Dysart Road but sleeps most nights in Peoria is a real issue if the parenting plan depends on school boundaries.
What happens at exchanges, particularly if one parent is consistently late, impaired or brings someone the court has said should not be there.
Who is caring for the children during the other parent's time, if there is reason to think it is not the parent.
Driving with the children in a way that is plainly unsafe, as seen from a public road.

Good investigation is narrow. Three documented weekend exchanges, with video and notes, are worth more than two weeks of footage of an ex going to work.

Things that backfire

Some of what parents want done is illegal. Some is legal but hurts them in court.

Recording conversations you are not part of is a crime in Arizona under A.R.S. 13-3005, unless one participant consents. Planting a recorder in the other parent's car or a child's backpack, or hiring someone to, is how a custody case turns into a criminal one.

Using the children as sources is the other big mistake. Asking a child to report on the other household, or having an investigator question the kids, is the kind of thing a judge weighs directly against you under the factor about supporting the child's relationship with the other parent.

Constant surveillance that the other parent notices can also look like harassment, and it can lead to an injunction against you. A competent investigator will tell you when enough is enough.

Practical notes for El Mirage cases

Maricopa County Superior Court hears family cases at several locations, including its Northwest Regional Center at 14264 W. Tierra Buena Ln. in Surprise, a short drive from most of El Mirage. Your investigator's report and any video need to be in a form your lawyer can disclose and use there. Ask about that before the work begins, not after.

If your exchanges happen in a quiet cul de sac, think about moving them to a public spot, such as a police station lobby or a shopping centre on Grand Avenue. That is often safer for everyone, and anything that goes wrong is easier to show a judge.

If you are the parent being watched, the advice is short. Follow the parenting plan and the court's orders. If you see someone and feel unsafe, call the police. Tell your lawyer.

Choosing someone

Arizona private investigators are licensed by the Department of Public Safety, and every private investigator listed on Served & Found in Arizona is a member of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators. Ask any candidate how many custody cases they have done, whether they have testified in family court, and how they decide what not to film. You can compare people on the El Mirage private investigators page, and our guide to what a private investigator does and can't do is a useful primer. Other local guides are collected on the El Mirage town page.

Before you call anyone, write down one sentence: what would the investigator need to see that would change what is best for your child? If you cannot write it, you probably do not need one yet.

See the board: everyone in El Mirage · private investigators only.