What can a custody investigation document?
Daniel documents what the other parent does in public during parenting time. The method is custody surveillance, which means lawful surveillance from places open to the public.
| Daniel can document | Out of reach |
|---|---|
| Exchange times and places, and who attends | What happens inside a home |
| Transport and driving seen from public roads | Private conversations |
| Supervision at parks, stores and events | School, medical or counseling records, which come through your attorney |
| Whether conditions of a court order that can be seen from public places are followed | Anything the child says |
The work is about what the adults do. Daniel does not approach or question a child, and does not contact the other parent.
Exchange times are usually known in advance, so the work is planned around specific parenting-time periods. Some periods show nothing of concern, and the report records that too.
Who asks for this work, and where does a family law attorney fit?
A parent in a divorce, custody, visitation or modification case who is worried about a child during the other parent's time. A family law attorney who needs facts documented by an investigator available to testify.
Your attorney decides what the case needs and how a report is used. Daniel gathers the facts. The report goes to you and, if you direct it, to your attorney.
In a contested custody case, an Oklahoma court may appoint an attorney as guardian ad litem to investigate the child's best interests (43 O.S. § 107.3). Daniel is not a guardian ad litem and does not take the place of one.
What is lawful in Oklahoma, and why does that protect your own case?
A finding of stalking or harassment can count against a parent in an Oklahoma custody decision. That is the reason not to track, confront or secretly record the other parent yourself. Daniel keeps a distance and works from public places only.
Custody in Oklahoma turns on the best interests "of the physical and mental and moral welfare of the child". 43 O.S. § 109(A)
Your attorney and the judge decide which facts matter. Daniel documents them.
A court finding of domestic violence, stalking or harassment by a parent raises a rebuttable presumption against custody for that parent. Stalking is defined by reference to the criminal stalking statute. 43 O.S. §§ 109(I)(1), 109.3
Oklahoma's stalking law treats tracking a person's location with a GPS or other monitoring device, without that person's consent, as "following", with narrow exceptions. It covers a person who acts on behalf of another. 21 O.S. § 1173
Daniel does not place trackers on vehicles.
In Oklahoma, a person who is part of a conversation may record it, and so may someone who has the prior consent of one participant, unless the recording is made to commit a crime. Intercepting other people's conversations outside those exceptions is a felony. 13 O.S. §§ 176.3, 176.4(5)
Reports include photographs and video, not audio of other people's conversations.
Secretly watching or photographing someone at a home or another place where they expect privacy can be a crime. Willfully entering someone's yard, garden, pasture or field without the owner's permission is an offense, with no exception for investigators. 21 O.S. §§ 1171, 1835
If you have already tracked or recorded the other parent, tell your attorney before you use or share any of it.
Nothing on this site is legal advice. Ask your attorney how the law applies to your situation.
What does the report contain?
- A written report set out as a timeline, one parenting-time period after another.
- Each exchange logged with its date, time and place.
- Photographs and video taken from public places, each with its date and time.
- The original files, preserved.
- Daniel, available to testify about the work performed.
The report states what was seen, not conclusions about either parent. How a report is used in court is a question for your attorney.
What should you have ready for the first call?
The first consultation is free. Work begins only after a written agreement is signed and a retainer is paid, as how it works explains. It helps to have:
- the current custody order or parenting plan, so Daniel knows its terms;
- the parenting-time schedule and the exchange locations;
- the vehicles involved;
- the specific concerns, with dates where you have them;
- your family law attorney's name and contact details;
- the safest way and time to reach you.
What it costs depends mostly on how many parenting-time periods need to be documented, plus mileage from Oklahoma City to the other parent's area. All of it is set out in the written agreement before work begins. The cost guide explains each factor.
When should you call 911 or the police before an investigator?
If someone is in danger right now, call 911. Fuller Investigations is not an emergency service.
If a child is in danger, call 911 first. If there has been violence or a threat of it, call the police and tell your attorney. An investigation documents facts and does not protect anyone.
Fuller Investigations declines any matter whose purpose appears to be to harass, threaten, stalk or harm someone.