Butler & Associates Private Investigations
"For Your Peace Of Mind, Let Us Uncover the Truth"                 CA P.I. Lic. 21673
Child Custody
The determination of which parent should have custody of the children in a divorce proceeding has become increasingly problematic in the past several decades. As clear legal rules have been replaced by less well-defined standards for making such decisions, uncertainty about the appropriate role of each parent in the child's life after divorce has increased.

The determination of parent custody after divorce has become an unpredictable and highly charged emotional issue for parents.   Parents will even attempt to use custody issues as bargaining power towards financial ends or as revenge, with little or no consideration for the child's welfare.  If this sounds familiar to you, we may be able to help.  Our goal is to provide evidence to the court which will influence the court's decision in your favor regarding custody or child support.

What Not To Do

To begin with, leave the child out of it.  In other words, don't "poison" the mind of your child by speaking poorly of the other parent in front of them.  This will only serve to confuse your child and does more harm than good.  The court will frown on this behavior if it is brought to their attention.  Besides, we want to influence the court, not the child.

Second, if you are aware that your ex is engaged in activity which is illegal (drug use or sales), endangering to the child (drinking and driving), criminal in nature (molestation), or just plain stupid (hangs out with convicted felons), avoid a confrontation.  Constantly telling your ex that you are aware of their bad activity will only serve as a warning that they can be caught; thus, it will come as no surprise if they just become more covert and difficult to catch.  Remember, our goal is to provide the court with evidence.  (You may want to start keep a log of what you observe from this moment on.  The details regarding your observations may prove to be very important should an investigation be initiated).

Finally, cases involving child support are usually centered around false statements made by one parent to the court regarding their employment, pay, health, living conditions, etc.  While the idea of lying to the court to avoid paying for one's own child is appalling, it does happen.   

What We Can Do

In child custody or support cases, we tend to look for an opportunity to gather damaging information or evidence regarding your ex that would expose their behavior or false statements to the court in an acceptable manner.  Remember, evidence gathered unlawfully cannot be introduced as evidence in court.  However, in child welfare, as well as criminal conduct cases, we, as private citizens, have much more latitude than law enforcement does. 

Our services are as follows:

1.  Surveillance.  The most proven method of documenting any
    endangering or illegal activity.  The results can be dramatic        and are irrefutable, as it is next to impossible to lie to the
    court when confronted with a videotape and photos. 
    Surveillance is billed at the rate of $95 per hour.  A report
    and videotape are provided for your records and for the
    court.  We release nothing to the court without your
    approval.

2.  Background Checks.  Utilizing various data sources, we will
    check your spouse's or their friend's backgrounds for
    designated information.  Billed at a flat, case-by-case rate.

For more difficult and complex child custody matters, please refer to our Designed Coincidences (***DC***) page.