Child Custody Disputes: How Electronic Evidence can Help
Without a doubt, child custody disputes are fraught for all involved. With eDiscovery, we secure evidence for child custody disputes to help lawyers establish the “best interest of the children”. Digital analysis of computers, cell phones, social networks, and online websites can all lead to admissible evidence in your case.
Common Evidence in Child Custody Battles
Frequently, the below evidence areas are supported by our digital footprints online and in our phones and computers:
- Ability to care for children (bathing, changing, feeding, home care, and school assistance)
- Abuse and neglect
- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Child care arrangements
- Discipline and rules of the parents
- Family, relatives, and witnesses to testify regarding child custody
- Information on online social networks
- Involvement of extended family (grandparents and relatives)
- Parenting skills
- Parents and children’s: schedules, activities, and religious and cultural practices
- Physical and mental issues of the parents
- Predictable schedule for the children
- Relationship between parents and children
- Special needs of the children (physical, mental, emotional)
- Who spends significant quality time with the children
To illustrate, consider this real-life example:
A wife’s computer yielded over 25,000 photos, mostly of the family and her children. Thus, demonstrating significant quality time spent with her children, engaged parenting, family activities, and her ability to meet the physical and emotional needs of her children.
Electronic Evidence Plays Key Role in Divorce Concerns of Children
With fully defensible electronic discovery collection practices, your evidence can be used with judges, mediators, and arbitrators. Specifically, we’ve help lawyers find evidence for the following areas relating to children in divorce.
- Motion for Temporary Custody Orders
- Parenting Plans
- Physical Custody, Legal Custody, and Joint Custody
- Split Custody Agreements
- Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)
- Visitation
Activities, Schedules and Significant Quality Time with Children
To determine the “best interest of the children” judges often look at the pattern of contact each parent has with the children. We help lawyers find, understand, and present child custody evidence relating to parent-child activities, the stability of the parent, and the degree of continuity in the children’s lives the parent would be present. For example, photos, videos, emails, and text messages may show who took care of arranged any of the following activities or undertakings.
- Academic Support: School homework, graduations, and college planning
- Appropriate discipline
- Amount of quality time spent with the children
- Consistent routines for the children
- Cooperation between parents (e.g. scheduling and communication with the children)
- Evidence to establish who is the primary caretaker
- Holiday scheduling, activities, availability
- Handling the home day-to-day scheduling
- Interference of visitation by the other spouse
- Medical care
- Parenting skills
- Religious practices, training, and activities
- Sports events
- Status quo of children’s current living situation
- Time schedule, timesharing, and visitation schedules of the parties
- Vacations
Parent and Children Relationships
We help lawyers understand the relationship each parent has with the children. By reviewing the computer, email, cell phone, and online data, we can often provide information about: Each parent’s relationship with the children before the divorce
- If the child is older, the child’s preferences in terms of custody and visitation
- If one spouse is saying negative things about the other spouse to the children
Parenting Skills and Discipline of the Parents
We use keyword and other search methods to reveal information about the parenting skills of and disciplining by each parent. The areas this information relates to including:
- Appropriate punishment
- Child education classes
- Chores
- Computer time
- Dating by teenagers
- Frequency of discipline
- Nutrition
- Rules of the household
- TV time
- Type of discipline
Physical and Mental Issues of the Parents
In determining the “best interest of the children”, the court will often look at physical and mental issues regarding each spouse. Protecting children is of primary importance. We search computers, cell phones, social networks, and online websites for evidence of:
- Medical, dental, or mental health appointment dates and times
- Names of psychiatrists, psychologist or counselors (see “Experts For Child Custody Cases” section)
- Physical conditions, injuries or medical treatment relevant to child custody
- Psychological conditions and treatment relevant to child custody
- Sexuality issues affecting the children (e.g. photos and videos of child pornography on computers or cell phones)
Alcohol or Drug Abuse of Parents
In determining the “best interest of the children”, the court will often look at any incidents of alcohol or drug abuse by the parents that relate to child custody. We search computers, cell phones, social networks, and online websites for evidence of:
- Abuse of anti-anxiety, pain medication or other prescription drugs
- Arrests and criminal records
- Automobile or other accidents
- Discussions or statements about drug or alcohol problems
- Driving records
- Employment problems caused by substance abuse
Domestic Violence, Abuse, and Neglect
We help lawyers discover and review information about incidents of domestic violence, child abuse, or neglect. This information is important for custody evaluations, custody determination, visitation schedules, and parenting plans. We carry out a thorough review of the electronic data on computers, cell phones, social networks, and online websites for evidence of:
- Arrests and criminal records
- Discussions or statements about abuse or neglect
- Serious Mental or Emotional Disorders
- Contact or treatment with a mental health professional (see “Experts For Child Custody Cases” section)
- We search online sex offenders databases (e.g. Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website at www.nsopw.gov.
Family, Relatives, and Witness for Child Custody Cases
We can help lawyers find witnesses for their case by locating digital copies of conversations and information contained in emails, text messages, cell phones, documents, and social media profiles for:
- Family members and relatives
- Ex-Spouses
- Stepparents
- Teachers
- Tutors
- Friends
- New relationships of the parents
Experts for Child Custody Cases
Lawyers often provide the evidence we collect about child custody to expert witnesses. For example:
- Child Therapists
- Clinical or Psychiatric Social Workers
- Clinical Psychologists
- Counselors
- Doctors
- Mental Health Professionals
- Physician Assistants
- Private Investigators or Private Detectives
- Psychiatrists
- Psychologists
- Psychotherapists
- School Psychologists
- Social workers
- Therapists
Information on Social Networks
We help lawyers gain access to, and collect and review information on social media accounts. Examples of social media and networking sites we examine are:
- Google+
- YouTube
- MySpace
- LiveJournal
- Meetup
- CafeMom
- Ning
- MyLife
- MeetMe