Florida Child Custody Private Investigator

When important facts in a Florida parenting or time-sharing dispute are unclear, objective documentation can help you and your attorney make informed decisions. JRS Investigations conducts discreet, lawful child custody investigations throughout Florida for parents, guardians, and legal counsel.

Our role is to document facts—not to decide custody, diagnose a parent, or replace an attorney, law enforcement, or child-protection agency. Every assignment is scoped around the specific questions that matter to the case and the evidence that can be gathered legally.

If a child may be in immediate danger, call 911. Suspected abuse, neglect, or abandonment can also be reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873.

What a Florida child custody investigator can document

Child custody and time-sharing disputes often involve competing accounts of what is happening outside the courtroom. Depending on the facts, location, and advice of counsel, an investigation may help document:

  • Compliance with scheduled exchanges and time-sharing arrangements
  • Late, missed, shortened, or disrupted pickups and drop-offs
  • Who routinely transports, supervises, or provides care for a child
  • Observable living, travel, or supervision patterns relevant to the case
  • Potentially unsafe driving or other conduct occurring in public view
  • Undisclosed household members or associates identified through lawful research
  • Public-record information relevant to a parent, caregiver, or frequent associate
  • A relocated parent’s current address or other verified location information
  • Facts that may support or refute allegations made during the dispute

No two family matters are alike. We do not begin with assumptions about either parent. The goal is accurate, neutral documentation that stands on its own.

Investigative services for parenting and time-sharing matters

Discreet surveillance

Lawful surveillance may document activities, travel, exchanges, caregiving patterns, and other observable conduct. Investigators maintain contemporaneous notes and, when circumstances allow, date-and-time-supported photographs or video.

Background and public-record research

Research can identify relevant public records, address history, business affiliations, court records, and other legally available information. Findings are reviewed for identity accuracy and context before they are included in a report.

Parent and witness locates

If a parent, caregiver, or potential witness has moved or cannot be reached, JRS can use lawful skip-tracing and verification methods to develop current location information. Learn more about our missing-person and skip-tracing services.

Time-sharing and exchange documentation

A focused assignment can document a pattern of missed exchanges, repeated lateness, unexpected third-party caregiving, or other conduct tied to a parenting plan. Your attorney can advise which facts are legally relevant and how they should be presented.

Child-support-related fact development

When a matter also involves unpaid support or disputed financial circumstances, research may develop employment, business, address, or asset leads. An investigator does not determine income or enforce an order, but verified leads may help counsel decide what formal discovery or enforcement steps to pursue.

How the investigation works

  1. Confidential consultation: We review the known facts, existing orders, important dates, locations, and the questions you need answered.
  2. Defined investigative plan: The assignment is narrowed to lawful, evidence-focused objectives. When you have counsel, coordination can reduce duplicated effort and keep the work aligned with case strategy.
  3. Fieldwork and research: Investigators conduct approved surveillance, public-record research, locates, or other appropriate work.
  4. Clear documentation: Findings are organized in a factual report with supporting media or source information when available.
  5. Case support: We can discuss the report with you or your attorney and explain the methods used to obtain the information.

Florida parenting-plan considerations

Florida courts decide parenting plans and time-sharing under the best-interest factors in Florida Statute 61.13, which include each parent’s demonstrated capacity to care for the child, the moral fitness and mental and physical health of the parents, and evidence of domestic violence or substance abuse. Since the 2023 amendment (Ch. 2023-301, Laws of Florida), the statute also presumes that equal time-sharing is in the child’s best interest, and a parent seeking a different schedule must rebut that presumption by a preponderance of the evidence. A modification still requires a substantial and material change in circumstances. Clear, dated documentation of what actually happens during each parent’s time is often what an attorney needs to meet those standards.

Other factors in the statute look at each parent’s record of honoring the time-sharing schedule, keeping the other parent informed, and supporting the child’s school and activities. Those are exactly the issues where dated observations, such as repeated late exchanges or a third party routinely caring for the child, can matter.

Relocation cases and court-ordered social investigations

Under Florida Statute 61.13001, a parent who wants to move a child’s principal residence at least 50 miles away for at least 60 consecutive days must have the other parent’s written agreement or the court’s permission. When a parent has moved without either, an investigator can lawfully verify the new address, who lives there, and the child’s daily routine, so your attorney has facts to bring to the court.

A Florida judge can also order a social investigation under Florida Statute 61.20, carried out by a court-appointed evaluator. That is a separate process. A private investigator works for you and your attorney, and our findings can be given to counsel to share with the evaluator or the court as your attorney decides.

Those standards do not mean every concern requires surveillance, and they do not make an investigator a substitute for legal advice. A Florida family-law attorney can identify which issues are material to your matter. JRS then focuses on collecting reliable facts within the approved scope.

What JRS Investigations will not do

Responsible investigations have firm boundaries. We do not trespass, hack accounts, impersonate another person to obtain protected information, unlawfully intercept communications, coach a child, or guarantee a particular court outcome. We also do not make medical, psychological, or legal conclusions.

These limits protect the integrity of the work and reduce the risk that questionable methods undermine otherwise useful evidence.

Information to have ready

A productive consultation usually begins with:

  • The current parenting plan, court order, or exchange schedule
  • Names, recent photographs, vehicle descriptions, and known addresses
  • Specific dates, locations, and behavior you want documented
  • A concise timeline of prior incidents
  • Contact information for your attorney, if represented
  • Any deadlines, hearings, or scheduled exchanges that affect timing

Do not access another person’s private accounts or install tracking software to gather information for us. Bring the facts and materials you already possess, and we will explain what can be investigated lawfully.

What Florida Judges Weigh and What an Investigator Can Document

Florida Statute 61.13(3) lists the factors a judge weighs when deciding a parenting plan. An investigator does not argue those factors; instead, the job is to give your attorney reliable facts that line up with them. For example, repeated late or missed exchanges speak to a parent’s ability to follow the time-sharing schedule. Observed impaired driving with the child in the car speaks to the child’s safety. A new partner with a relevant court history speaks to the home environment. JRS records dates, times, places and lawful photographs or video so each observation can be matched to the factor your attorney is arguing.

Checking a New Partner or Household Member

Many Florida custody cases change when a new adult moves into the other parent’s home or starts caring for the child. JRS can verify that person’s identity and research lawful public sources, including Florida county court records, the Florida Department of Corrections offender search and the FDLE sexual offender and predator registry. A name match alone proves nothing, so every record is confirmed against date of birth and other identifiers before it goes in a report.

How to Verify a Florida Private Investigator License

Florida private investigators are licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing, under Chapter 493. An agency holds a Class A license and each investigator holds a Class C license. JRS Investigations holds agency license A 2400330, and Jody Stacy holds Class C license C 2401125. Any family-law attorney can confirm both on the state’s public license lookup before evidence is relied on in court.

For more answers about costs, retainers, confidentiality and evidence, see our private investigator FAQs.

Child custody investigations across Florida

JRS handles custody and time-sharing work statewide. These pages cover local courts, counties and contact numbers:

Parents in western North Carolina can see our Florida and North Carolina child custody page. For a longer explanation of what evidence is useful, read what a child custody investigator can document.

Florida Child Custody Guides

Read more before you call: when to hire a child custody investigator, the factors that matter in a custody case, and local guides for Cocoa Beach, Viera, Indialantic Beach, Daytona Beach, Boynton Beach and Key West. For cases that also involve suspected cheating, see our infidelity investigations, or browse every city on our Florida private investigator page.

Who handles your case

JRS Investigations is owned and run by Jody Stacy, a private investigator and former police officer at both the state and federal level, with more than 25 years of experience. Florida agency license A 2400330. Custody assignments are planned around your parenting plan and court dates, and you receive confidential written updates after each phase of work.

Questions About Florida Child Custody Investigations

How much does a child custody investigation cost in Florida?

Florida investigations are billed at $125 per hour under a 25-hour or 40-hour retainer, agreed after a free phone consultation and before any fieldwork begins. The consultation is used to decide how many days of observation your case actually needs.

Can an investigator prove that a parent is unfit?

An investigator can document relevant facts. The court—not the investigator—decides how those facts affect parental responsibility or time-sharing.

How long does a child custody investigation take?

Timing depends on the questions presented and whether the conduct occurs on a predictable schedule. Some assignments focus on one exchange; others require observations across multiple days to determine whether a pattern exists.

Can you work directly with my family-law attorney?

Yes. Attorney coordination is often useful when defining objectives, scheduling work around hearings, and delivering reports in the format counsel prefers.

Do you conduct investigations outside South Florida?

Yes. JRS handles appropriate assignments throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Monroe, Lee, Collier, and other counties. Availability and approach depend on the assignment.

Will the other parent know an investigation is underway?

Investigations are handled discreetly, but no ethical investigator can promise that surveillance will never be noticed. We plan each assignment to minimize unnecessary exposure while staying within the law.

Can you check the other parent’s new partner?

Yes, through lawful public sources such as court records, the Florida Department of Corrections offender search and the FDLE sex offender registry. Each record is confirmed against identifiers before it is reported, and JRS does not obtain sealed or restricted records without legal process.

Can an investigator help in a Florida relocation case?

Yes. When a parent asks to move a child 50 miles or more under Florida Statute 61.13001, an investigator can verify the proposed home, school and job, and document facts your attorney needs for the hearing.

Discuss your Florida child custody investigation

If you need reliable facts concerning time-sharing, supervision, a relocated parent, or disputed conduct, contact JRS Investigations for a confidential case review. We will explain the available options, likely scope, and next practical step.

Call (888) 737-7690 or contact JRS Investigations online.

This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified Florida attorney about your rights, deadlines, and court strategy.