The Role of Private Investigators in Divorce Cases

Private investigators can support divorce and separation cases by establishing specific facts, but they do not decide the legal outcome and they are not needed to “prove fault” for a divorce in England and Wales. Since 6 April 2022, the no-fault divorce system has removed the old requirement to establish adultery, behaviour, desertion or periods of separation as the factual basis for the divorce itself.

At Trojan Investigations, we approach divorce-related instructions by first asking what factual question actually matters. That might involve tracing, public-source financial or business connections, a defined surveillance objective, evidence relevant to a child-welfare concern, service of documents or another issue identified by the client’s solicitor.

Originally published: 22nd July 2024  |  Updated: 7th September 2026

Divorce, Finances and Children Are Different Legal Questions

“The divorce” is often used as shorthand for several different issues. In practice, ending the marriage, dividing finances and making arrangements for children are distinct processes. Evidence that is emotionally important may not be legally decisive in another part of the case.

No-Fault Divorce Changed the Role of Infidelity Evidence

For applications issued in England and Wales from 6 April 2022, the law no longer requires one spouse to make allegations about the other’s conduct in order to obtain the divorce. The marriage is ended on the basis of irretrievable breakdown under the current process.

That means a client should not be sold surveillance on the promise that photographs of an affair are necessary to “win the divorce”. They are not a prerequisite for the divorce application itself. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different legal processes, so jurisdiction should be confirmed rather than assuming the England-and-Wales rules apply everywhere in the UK.

When Relationship Investigation May Still Be Useful

Personal clarity can be a legitimate reason for someone to want verified facts before making a major life decision. In other cases, the factual issue may overlap with cohabitation, unexplained absence, safeguarding, undisclosed business activity or an assertion made during proceedings.

Our relationship investigations are therefore scoped around the question the client actually needs answered rather than an assumption that any evidence of infidelity has automatic legal significance.

Financial Disclosure: What the Court Process Already Requires

Where divorcing spouses in England and Wales cannot agree finances and ask the court to decide, GOV.UK guidance explains that the court can make a financial order dealing with property, pensions, savings, investments and maintenance. In contested financial remedy proceedings, both parties may need to complete Form E and provide supporting financial documents.

A private investigator is not a substitute for that disclosure process. Investigation may help identify public corporate interests, undisclosed business connections, address links or other leads that a solicitor can consider when deciding what questions or disclosure requests to pursue.

What Public-Source Financial Research Can Show

Depending on the case, open records may reveal company directorships, business ownership, registered offices, insolvency information, property-related public records or other lawful indicators. These can be useful leads, but each needs interpretation.

A company directorship may be historic. A registered office may be an accountant’s address. A person can be connected to a business without owning the assets the client assumes. Investigation should establish the quality of the link, not simply produce a list of names.

Tracing a Spouse or Former Partner

Sometimes the practical problem is that one party cannot be located. A lawful trace may help establish a current address or confirm whether an historic address is still relevant for legitimate proceedings. The purpose should be documented, and safety risks need to be considered before an address is disclosed.

Where the issue relates to proceedings, our legal and litigation support can be coordinated with the instructing solicitor so the trace, report and next step fit the legal process.

Child Arrangements: Evidence Must Be About Welfare, Not Point-Scoring

In England and Wales, applications about where a child lives, spends time or other specific parenting issues are dealt with through the child-arrangements framework. GOV.UK guidance explains that the court focuses on agreement where possible and on whether the child is at risk, with Cafcass often involved.

An investigation may sometimes be relevant where there is a genuine safeguarding concern or a specific factual dispute. It should not be used to recruit children as witnesses against a parent, to monitor ordinary parenting choices indefinitely or to manufacture conflict between adults.

Surveillance in Divorce-Related Cases

Targeted surveillance can sometimes answer a defined question about public movements, meetings or the use of a location. It should not become open-ended monitoring of an ex-partner simply because the relationship has broken down.

Repeated following, watching, contact or electronic monitoring can become relevant to harassment or stalking law depending on the wider facts. A professional investigator therefore assesses purpose, proportionality, frequency, safety and data protection before accepting a surveillance instruction.

What Surveillance Can Actually Establish

Surveillance can record observable events: a person arrived at a location, met someone, travelled somewhere or remained at an address for a period. It does not prove the private meaning of a relationship, ownership of an asset or what was said inside a building.

Reports should distinguish observation from inference. That makes them more useful to a solicitor and reduces the risk that emotionally charged assumptions are presented as fact.

Digital Evidence and Private Accounts

A client may already have lawfully received messages, emails or photographs that matter to the case. Those can be preserved and reviewed in context. But an investigator does not gain permission to hack a spouse’s email, social media, cloud storage or phone because divorce proceedings are underway.

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 and other privacy laws are relevant to unauthorised access. Secret access can also create separate legal and evidential problems for the client.

Domestic Abuse, Coercive Control and Stalking

Divorce and separation can be periods of elevated risk. A request to locate or monitor a former partner may sometimes be connected to coercive control or stalking rather than a legitimate evidential purpose. That context matters.

If there is immediate danger, threats, stalking or domestic abuse, contact the police or an appropriate specialist support service. A private investigation is not an emergency protection measure.

Evidence for Solicitors: Focus on the Question That Can Change a Decision

In a legally connected case, the most efficient approach is often for the solicitor to identify the factual gap. Examples might include whether an address is current, whether a person is connected to a particular business, whether a claimed routine is inconsistent with observed public activity, or whether a witness can be located.

That makes the instruction narrow, measurable and easier to report. It also reduces the risk of collecting large amounts of emotionally interesting but legally irrelevant information.

How We Plan a Divorce-Related Investigation

When Not to Instruct a Private Investigator

Investigation is unlikely to add value if the client only wants proof of adultery because they believe it is legally required for divorce in England and Wales. It may also be inappropriate where the instruction is retaliatory, intended to frighten an ex-partner, duplicates information already available through formal disclosure or creates disproportionate risk to children or vulnerable people.

Financial Investigation Should Support, Not Bypass, Disclosure

Where financial proceedings are underway, a solicitor may use credible external information to test whether formal disclosure appears complete. That can include verified company interests, business connections, addresses or other public evidence that is inconsistent with what has been stated.

The appropriate next step is often a disclosure question, court application or legal submission rather than the investigator trying to obtain confidential records directly. This keeps the evidence within the proper process and reduces the risk of contaminating a potentially valid financial issue with unlawful methods.

Cohabitation Evidence Needs Legal Context

Clients sometimes ask for surveillance to “prove cohabitation”. The word can have different significance depending on the legal or financial issue. Spending nights at an address, keeping belongings there, sharing bills and maintaining a household are not identical facts, and a surveillance report may only be able to establish some of them.

Before commissioning repeated observation, the client should understand which factual indicators their solicitor considers relevant. Otherwise, extensive footage may establish presence without answering the legal question.

Preserving Evidence Before Separation Becomes Contentious

If a client already has legitimate access to documents, messages addressed to them, shared household records or public information, preserving the original context can be more useful than repeatedly screenshotting fragments. Dates, source, surrounding text and the way the material was received may all matter later.

Clients should avoid editing, impersonating the other spouse, logging into private accounts or deleting material in an attempt to strengthen their position. If proceedings are likely, legal advice can help identify what should be preserved.

Service and Address Confirmation Can Be More Important Than Surveillance

Not every divorce-related investigation is about conduct. If a spouse has moved or cannot be contacted, the practical need may be a reliable address for correspondence, service or enforcement. A targeted trace can be more proportionate than extended surveillance.

The result should still be handled carefully, particularly where domestic abuse, protective orders or safety concerns may explain why an address has been kept private.

Outcome Evidence Should Be Proportionate to the Decision

A client may need enough evidence to make a personal decision, while a solicitor may need a higher level of detail for a court application. The investigation should match the intended use. Collecting court-style evidence for a purely personal question can be unnecessary; relying on a single ambiguous observation for a serious legal allegation can be insufficient.

Agreeing the decision the evidence is intended to support is one of the best ways to control cost, intrusion and disappointment.