Our Services

Domestic ( Divorce Related) Investigations

Traditionally, domestic investigators were often employed to discover and develop evidence that would be used as grounds for divorce. Although grounds for divorce are no longer needed in many cases due to today’s no-fault divorce laws, domestic investigations can still produce valuable information that is often needed in divorce-related situations. If you are going through a divorce and want to protect your children and your assets, our professional investigators will work with you to bring you peace of mind.

Sorry, we don’t conduct infidelity surveillance Services. The Agency’s Owner and Director, L.H. Vargas, due to prior Homicide Investigations conducted by him, as a result of none professional Investigators supplying information to there clients, without caring whether or not these clients were physically and/ or mentally capable of receiving information as a result of an infidelity investigation, which caused an act of violence against one of the spouse, most of the times, fatal. Our Director believes that an Investigative Agency conducting the previously stated type of investigations should specialize themselves just in that area of investigations, with Investigators specialized in psychology studies.

Divorce

One necessary phase of almost every divorce is the division of marital property. A spouse who cites marital misconduct as grounds for a divorce suit often receives a greater portion of the marital property. In some cases, a spouse may try to hide assets to exclude them from being equitably divided. To help ensure that you receive a fair distribution in your divorce settlement, our investigators will thoroughly examine and analyze your spouse’s finances to reveal any hidden assets.

Child Custody

These investigations are designed to meet the needs of the situation, but at the heart of every investigation is our obligation to determine and preserve the best interests of the children. The needs of the children must always supersede any tendency to declare one parent the winner over the other.

In many cases, a child custody evaluation is required by the court prior to granting guardianship to one parent versus another. In some cases, however, one parent may have cause to believe that the parent with custody is unfit to take care of a child, and therefore hire an investigator to collect evidence. A parent may be considered unfit if he/she has a history of, or currently shows signs of, physical or mental abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction, or any other tendency to expose children to danger or an unhealthy environment. Armed with sufficient evidence from the investigator, a parent can petition for custody of the children involved.

L.H. Investigations and General Consultant, support our clients' litigation needs by locating and interviewing witnesses; surveillance activities; historical and transactional research; performing forensic accounting analysis; collecting and reviewing evidence; preparing thorough, accurate and professionally written investigative reports; and presenting expert testimony.

Thorough Professional Searches

Our searches look for real and personal property, interests in properties and business activities, and other financial and business assets, including bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, stocks, bonds, accounts receivable, royalties, patents, etc. Additionally, we examine assets of family members for possible transfers, and corporations associated with the subject and his/her partners.

We identify individuals or entities that can provide leads and directions through a scrutiny of the individual's life style, litigation history and relationships in order to discover hidden assets.

The Private Investigator in Family Law Issues

As private investigators we use modern technology and work in the background. Utilizing the services of an investigator can be one of the best moves a client can make to help his or her family court case.

Evidence of misconduct can be obtained via surveillance in child custody cases. This surveillance can be done in person, or through modern technology via GPS tracking, and in addition evidence could be obtained of things such as: drug activity, child neglect, and other misconduct.

Document Your Finances before Filing for Divorce

If you suspect that your spouse may attempt to hide assets, it's best to start investigating your household and business finances before initiating divorce proceedings. Keep copies of important documents (such as tax returns, bank account statements, and pay stubs) outside the home if you're still living with your spouse or partner.

Common ways in which a spouse may undervalue or disguise marital assets include:

Antiques, artwork, hobby equipment, gun collections, and tools that is overlooked or undervalued. Look for antique furnishings, original paintings, or collector-level carpets at your spouse's office.
Income that is unreported on tax returns and financial statements.
Cash kept in the form of travelers' checks. You may be able to find these by tracing bank account deposits and withdrawals.
A custodial account set up in the name of a child, using the child's Social Security number.
Investment in certificate "bearer" municipal bonds or Series EE Savings Bonds. These do not appear on account statements because they are not registered with the IRS. (The government is phasing out these bonds, realizing that it is losing a lot of money.)
Collusion with an employer to delay bonuses, stock options, or raises until a time when the asset or income would be considered separate property.
Debt repayment to a friend for a phony debt.
Expenses paid for a girlfriend or boyfriend, such as gifts, travel, rent, or tuition for college or classes.
Retirement accounts that your spouse never tells you about.

In addition, business owners may try to hide assets in these ways:

Skimming cash from the business.
Salary payments to a nonexistent employee, with checks that will be voided after the divorce.
Money paid from the business to someone close -- such as a father, mother, girlfriend, or boyfriend -- for services that were never actually rendered (the money is given back to your spouse after the divorce is final).
A delay in signing long-term business contracts until after the divorce. Although this may seem like smart planning, if the intent is to lower the value of the business it is considered hiding assets.