Served & Found
Glendale custody fights: what a private investigator can record
If you are thinking about hiring a private investigator in a Glendale custody case, you are probably worried about something specific: the other parent drinking before pickups, leaving the kids alone, letting a new partner with a record move in, or not living where they told the court they live.
Sometimes the worry is right. Sometimes it isn't. Either way, the job of a private investigator is to find out and write down what actually happens, not to build the case you hope exists.
This is general information. Talk to your family law attorney before hiring anyone, because the attorney knows what your judge will need and what will backfire.
Where these cases are heard
Divorce, legal decision-making and parenting time cases in Maricopa County are filed in Superior Court. Hearings can happen at the downtown Phoenix buildings or at regional locations such as the Northwest Regional Center at 14264 W. Tierra Buena Lane in Surprise. Your case number and the minute entries will tell you where your hearings are set.
What a judge tends to find useful
Family court judges hear a lot of accusations. What tends to carry weight is specific, dated, first-hand observation that bears on the children's safety and wellbeing. A private investigator can provide that in a few ways.
Exchange observations. Many Glendale parents swap the kids in a public place, often a police station lobby, a fast food parking lot or a busy shopping center near the Loop 101. A private investigator can watch an exchange from a public spot and record what happens: whether the other parent arrived on time, whether they appeared impaired, who else was in the car.
Residence checks. If the other parent claims to live at an address in Glendale for school district or parenting time purposes, a private investigator can document where they actually sleep and where the kids actually go after school.
Who's around the kids. A new partner or roommate may have a public record worth knowing about. Background research on that person, using public records, is often more useful than watching the parent at all.
Driving. If there's a concern about driving with the kids while impaired or unlicensed, careful observation in public, combined with public records, can show a pattern.
What a private investigator won't do
A licensed private investigator won't follow your children into their school, won't go onto the other parent's property, and won't put a camera where it can see into a home. They also won't record conversations they aren't part of. Arizona's interception statute, A.R.S. 13-3005, makes it a felony to intercept a call or electronic communication without the consent of a party, or to record a conversation you aren't present for without a party's consent.
That last point trips up parents more than private investigators. A recording device hidden in a child's backpack or a phone app that records the other parent's calls can create criminal exposure for you and give the other side a reason to question your judgment. Talk to your lawyer before you record anything.
GPS trackers on the other parent's car are also a bad idea. Even where the law is unclear, judges rarely look kindly on it.
Keeping it proportionate
Surveillance in a custody case should be narrow. A judge who sees that you had the other parent followed for six weeks may wonder about your motives. A few well-chosen days, tied to a specific concern, usually look more credible.
Tell the private investigator exactly what you're worried about and when it happens. "He drinks on Sunday afternoons before he drops them off" gives a private investigator something to test. "Find out everything" doesn't, and it'll cost more.
Be ready for an answer you didn't want. If the report says the other parent was on time, sober and attentive at four straight exchanges, that's useful too. It may save you a hearing you'd lose.
Reports and testimony
Ask how the private investigator records time and location, whether video is time-stamped, and how files are preserved. Ask whether they've testified in family court and how they handle being cross-examined. Their report has to stand up to the other side's lawyer, not just persuade you.
Hiring in Glendale
Arizona private investigators are licensed by the Department of Public Safety, which says you can check status through its Public Services Portal. Our guide to verifying an Arizona private investigator license explains how.
The Glendale private investigators page lists private investigators who are members of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators (AALPI). Analytic Investigations is one of the firms based in Glendale. If the other parent lives in Peoria, Surprise or elsewhere west, the West Valley private investigators page lists more.
You'll find the rest of our Glendale listings on the Glendale page. Write down the three dates and times that worried you most, and bring that list to your lawyer before you hire anyone.
See the board: everyone in Glendale · private investigators only.