Custody and Child Support Dortmund

A divorce is usually emotionally painful – at least for one party. Initially, the primary concern is hurt feelings; however, once the pain of separation has been overcome, two other major points often emerge in divorce proceedings: finances and custody. Who receives which assets? Who pays whom, and how much in maintenance? How is custody arranged? Who “gets” any joint children, and what rights does the other parent retain?

 

Particularly regarding maintenance matters, our private detectives in Dortmund are regularly called upon, as concealing income or new cohabiting relationships – both of which can justify changes to maintenance arrangements – is a common practice. Through observations, Kurtz Detective Agency Dortmund can uncover these hidden circumstances and document them in a legally admissible manner: +49 231 8401 0065.

Case Study: Concealed Income

The marriage of our later client and her husband was over. Wanda and Alfred (all names changed) had attempted to salvage what they could – primarily for the sake of their one-year-old child – but to no avail. At the divorce hearing, custody of their son Dieter was awarded to the mother, while the father was permitted visitation only on weekends. Additionally, he was required to pay child support to Wanda. Initially, he was granted visitation for two weekends a month, starting with Saturdays only, to be extended to both Saturday and Sunday once Alfred had demonstrated his suitability. However, it did not come to that:

Unreliability, Intoxication, Violence

On the first scheduled visit, Alfred was supposed to collect the child at 14:00 from the mother. Nothing happened; no one arrived. He could not be reached by phone. Around 20:30, there was a knock at Wanda’s door, but she did not open it, as she was no longer expecting visitors at that hour. She rang the neighbours, and shortly afterwards voices, then loud shouting, could be heard in the hallway: “Tell her I’ll be back! I’ll pick up the child tomorrow! I’ll be there at ten!” Then silence. The next day – nothing happened.

 

Two weeks later would have been the next visit, but just one week after the first weekend, Alfred knocked at Wanda’s door shortly after six in the morning. Visibly intoxicated, he intended to take his child, but she denied him access. When Alfred attempted to become physical, she slammed the door in his face and called the police. By the time they arrived, he had already left. Alfred never appeared again, but called a few days later, claiming he would not pay maintenance as he was allegedly not allowed to see Dieter.

broken beer bottle on the floor; maintenance, custody, Kurtz Detective Agency Dortmund, private detective Dortmund, private investigator Dortmund

When the father showed up at the mother’s flat, he was so aggressively drunk that he even threw a beer bottle onto the pavement. Rightly, the mother refused him access to the child and contacted the police.

Sudden Impoverishment? Detectives Prove the Contrary

From that point on, Alfred claimed to be unemployed and penniless whenever the youth welfare office or family court sought to assess his ability to pay child support. Wanda obtained a court order valid for 30 years, yet Alfred did not pay a single instalment for years. Fortunately, Wanda remained persistent and saved a small reserve from her modest income, allowing her to commission our Dortmund detectives to expose Alfred’s deception. She knew that her ex-husband had been working “under the table” in construction, generating no tax-recorded income. By proving this work, Alfred would not only be obliged to pay ongoing child support but also to meet his past obligations, mitigating potential criminal consequences.

 

Accordingly, our Dortmund private detectives conducted several days of observation of the maintenance dodger. He made little effort to conceal his illegal construction work. When such activities go unpunished for years, most targets, according to the experience of Kurtz Detective Agency Dortmund, become careless and no longer attempt to hide their offences. Consequently, in this case it was relatively easy to document the concealed income, providing Wanda with the evidence she needed to enforce her legal rights. We are happy to achieve similar results for you in a comparable case. Please describe your matter to us by phone or by e-mail at kontakt@kurtz-detektei-dortmund.de.

Note

To preserve discretion and the personal rights of clients and targets, all names and locations in this case report have been completely anonymised.