After a separation or divorce, child custody and visitation arrangements are often the source of the most sensitive conflicts. When one party suspects that the agreement or the court ruling is not being respected, or that the child is in an unsuitable situation, they need concrete facts rather than impressions.
In this article we explain how a private detective can help, what kind of evidence can be presented to a judge and what limits the law sets.
When a private detective can be useful
An investigation in this field is considered when there are reasonable grounds to think that something does not match what the court or the divorce agreement established. Some common examples:
- Repeated breaches of the visitation schedule or of the hand-over and pick-up times.
- Doubts about who the child actually lives with during the periods spent with the other parent.
- Changes of address or routine that are not communicated and make contact with the children difficult.
- Situations that could affect the child's safety or well-being while in the other parent's care.
The detective does not replace the court or judge which parent is better. Their role is to document objective facts so that the judicial authority can assess them.
What evidence can be obtained
The outcome of the work is an investigation report with a detailed description of what was observed: dates, times, places and people, accompanied by visual material where appropriate and lawful.
This report can be submitted in enforcement or modification-of-measures proceedings, and the detective can ratify it before the judge. Its evidential value is always decided by the court, together with the rest of the evidence in the case.
The best interests of the child guide every action. For that reason, images of minors are kept to the bare minimum and the investigation focuses on the conduct of the adults.
The limits set by law
Spain's Private Security Act 5/2014 and data protection rules set clear limits. At Indaga we always work within them:
- Only what happens in public places, or is visible from them, is observed and documented.
- There is never any recording inside a home, nor access to private phones, emails or social media.
- The person commissioning the investigation must have a legitimate interest.
- Information is handled confidentially and used only for the purpose for which it was commissioned.
No investigation guarantees a specific result: the report reflects what is actually observed, whether or not it favours the person who commissioned it. If your case involves a modification of measures, you may also be interested in our family investigation services.
Do you have doubts about compliance with the visitation arrangements?
Tell us about your case in complete confidence. We will tell you whether there are grounds to investigate and how to do it within the law.
Contact us