Family Law

Divorces and family law matters can at tunes be acrimonious, and highly emotive affairs which can result in ex-partners becoming highly vindictive and abusive. At these times, people sometimes wonder if they should consider using the services of a private investigator to assist in the compilation of evidence for them to present to the Family Court where they feel their ex-spouse may be lying to them. The question that must be asked is, will hiring a private investigator actually help or will it just be another expense?

In Australia, it is no longer a necessity to prove adultery of the other partner.  With our no-fault divorce laws, whether your spouse cheated on you may well be hurtful and the reason for your divorce, but it is generally not considered relevant in Australian Family Law court proceedings.

However, the court may well consider an ex-spouses conduct when considering some aspects of property division. An example would be where one spouse has wilfully wasted marital funds on lovers or others.  The court may take into consideration such wastefulness and may make an adjustment in favour of the aggrieved party to reflect the way marital funds were unfairly wasted.

Fraud and hidden assets are another avenue of enquiry in which a private investigator may assist in Family Law matters. And a private investigator can assist your solicitor on your behalf, in establishing accuracy of information presented to a court in regard to an ex-spouse’s conduct employment or undeclared income, that is not in the best interests of the children involved in a family law dispute – conduct such as gambling, violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.

Therefore, consider these two questions when determining whether hiring a private investigator is going to be helpful to your case:

• Is the conduct of the other party likely to have an impact on any child custody proceedings?
• Do you believe assets have been hidden or not fully disclosed in your divorce?

If you believe the answer to either question is yes, and you are going through a family law matter or divorce please consult with your solicitor as to whether or not it may be wise to hire a private investigator to help in your case.

The need for surveillance often arises as a result of issues with personal disputes. DMA are able to offer you a range of specialist services from both static and mobile positions in order to clarify the truth of the matter. We can monitor from a static surveillance vehicle or gather evidence on the move in discreet vehicles, on foot, or motorcycles as appropriate.

We keep you fully informed with findings and further recommendations throughout the surveillance period. All movement is documented in a comprehensive report including images and/or video as well as any third party the subject meets. Our team can then be instructed to follow any interested parties the subject meets in audit for them to be identified. All footage is recorded onto time and date stamped video for evidential use which is fully admissible for any legal proceedings.

Private investigators, unlike what is depicted within movies, do not have readily available access to personal information with just a click of a button. Australia has tightened the laws relating to private access to personal information by individuals while at the same time allowing greater access to government. However, there is no substitute for direct observation of a subject which is where surveillance is an increasingly useful method in uncovering information about a person for either personal or business reasons to attain peace of mind and/or pivotal evidence to place before the courts.

DMA can deploy a combination of methods, either tracking the movements of particular person or using counter surveillance tactics determining whether you are the subject of covert surveillance yourself. Our team can also arrange a bug sweep and detection services of commercial and residential addresses.

Surveillance can be used to cover most situations where a need for an independent, professional, and experienced observer is required to gather documentary evidence of deceptive or illegal conduct.

All of our surveillance services are carefully planned and conducted by experienced licensed investigators conducted in accordance with the governing statutory Acts.

Our experienced team provide covert surveillance and obtain evidential footage of matrimonial infidelity taking place. The gathering of such evidence is compiled in accordance with existing legislation and is legally admissible in any court proceedings.

DMA’s wide practical experience of working with legal teams ensures that you can get to the truth on the matter and that the evidence can be usefully.

If you do not already have a legal representation, we have close links with a number of specialist divorce lawyers which may assist you.

DMA process servers have extensive experience in serving wide range of legal documents on behalf of local authorities, solicitors, companies, and private individuals. Whether you are looking to serve court orders, statutory demands, family papers or winding up petitions, our expert team of document service can help. We also regularly serve landlords or tenant documents, statutory notices, bankruptcy petitions and divorce papers.

Documents required to be served will be reliably picked up from court, or a location of your choice, and served anywhere at any time. Your papers and documents will be served in the correct manner, considering any specific instructions you may have. Our experienced team ensure all statements of service or affidavits are completed correctly and our representatives will attend court where required.