Electronic snooping increasingly present in divorce cases

Thanks to readily available and easily concealable spy gadgets, more and more divorce cases are starting to involve the use of some kind of electronic spying devices in an attempt to gather evidence. However, even though some spouses may believe that spying to gather evidence in a divorce or child custody case is the way to go, attorneys are cautioning about crossing the line due to emotions.

When looking at an example of this type of spying behavior, one father said that his ex-wife went as far as to sew a tiny recording device into a pair of pants worn by his son. This device ended up recording private conversations the father was having with family members, attorneys and therapists. Thinking this domestic surveillance went too far, the father recently filed a lawsuit accusing his ex-spouse of violating federal wiretap laws.

However, this is just one of many examples, as the possibilities for spying on an ex seem to be endless with things like software to track phone calls and text messages, GPS trackers and miniature video recorders. One gadget shop store manager even talked about new eyeglass cameras that are selling pretty quickly. His guess is that the evidence from these glasses will end up in child custody cases.

Of course, having suspicions and spying on an ex-spouse is nothing new. Now, it's just easier. However, attorneys warn to not cross the line, with the advice being that if it feels like you are doing something wrong, don't do it.

In the end, while it's hard sometimes during a divorce or custody battle when people are so emotional, remember that it's better to talk with legal representation in order to build a case, instead of finding yourself being handed down a lawsuit by an ex-spouse.

Source: Houston Chronicle, "Spy gadgets infiltrate divorces as domestic snooping booms," Mike Tolson, April 29, 2012