Hire a social worker as your private investigator, to ferret out valuable custody evidence.
Posted September 22nd, 2016.
Categories: Child Custody, Custody Tips, Family Law.
If your child custody case could benefit from the services of a private investigator, think about hiring a social worker instead. A licensed social worker can often double as a private eye while bringing valuable interviewing and observational skills to the task.
Social workers usually do not charge unreasonable fees. While they don’t have the extensive training of psychiatrists or psychologists, they have special skills in dealing with people, witnesses, and relationships. Social workers are generally regarded as reliable experts in family courts, and indeed, many family courts employ social workers within the judicial system to assist with certain child-related issues.
Social workers can collect vital pieces of information and draw valuable insights by interviewing both parents as well as impartial witnesses. Other interviews may involve grandparents, uncles and aunts, new “significant others,” school officials, babysitters, domestic help, clergy, the child’s schoolmates and their parents, other neighbors, coaches and club leaders (such as scoutmasters).
The services of a social worker should be arranged through your attorney, and a report should be generated early enough in the proceedings to be shared with the other parent (and/or the other attorney). If conducted effectively and promptly, a social worker’s report can also provide tremendous leverage in negotiations and may serve as a useful bargaining tool in a custody mediation.
