One evening as I was dozing off to sleep, the telephone rang. On the other end was a reporter from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The reporter told me that he was writing a story for Valentine’s Day concerning cheating spouses. I was half asleep at the time, and mumbled some words about my work on divorce cases.

I forgot all about the conversation with the reporter until February 13th.  A fellow investigator told me that I had been mentioned in a newspaper article the day before.

A few days later I got a call from a woman I’ll call “Elaine.” I could hear the pain in her voice as she told me about her marriage problems. Her marriage of nearly two decades was just about over.

Elaine had two children with her husband. She says that everything between them changed about five years ago. Her husband was seldom affectionate, and began to keep late hours, even staying out all night at unknown locations.

Recently, Elaine’s husband told her that he wanted a divorce, but could not leave for six months. He also expressed a need to sell their two homes since he needed the money.

Elaine had a joint cell phone account with her husband and noticed many calls from Vermont. Her friend traced the most frequent calls to a woman living in that state.

When Elaine met me, she told me that her husband owned a business with her. Since his client base would be here, I immediately suspected that his main squeeze from Vermont was now living here in Georgia.

My services were retained, and I went about obtaining a report on the Vermont woman, who I found living in a local apartment house in metro Atlanta. I took my video camera with me three times to the address that I verified as his girlfriend’s home. Although I never saw my client’s husband, I did see his truck. I videotaped the vehicle with a time and date seal on it. Eventually, I handed the husband a summons and complaint as he was exiting his girlfriend’s expensive sports car in front of her apartment.
 
A licensed private investigator is a neutral third party in a divorce. Therefore, should court testimony be necessary, a private investigator’s statement and report are usually considered by the court.

Many times, for financial or other reasons, a spouse will try to present to the court evidence that he or she has found. Often the court considers such a presentation as vindictive and hysterical. However, a private investigator can produce more solid evidence, such as a video of the spouse at certain locations with dates and times attached. Also, he can legally furnish information on addresses, telephone numbers, and assets.

Some of the indications of infidelity are:

• Your spouse has had a drastic change in work or social schedule
• Your spouse is getting telephone calls late at night or early in the morning
• Your spouse has purchased an additional cell phone, or has mailed phone bills away from the home.
• You find receipts for hotels, motels, and gifts
• Your spouse is always seen going to lunch or dinner or traveling with a specific person of the opposite sex from his or her business
• Your spouse has left the bed the two of you sleep in, or is no longer interested in intimacy (excepting an underlying physical or mental condition as the cause)

Over fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. If you have observed any of the above indicators or other inconsistent behaviors, remember Elaine and consider whether a private investigator may be helpful to you.