Is hiring a private investigator legal

Is hiring a private investigator legal?

 

The question of whether hiring a private investigator is legal or not arises quite a bit. Private investigators are hired by regular people, companies and legal attorneys to investigate matters on their behalf. So, by default that act of hiring a private investigator is legal in these cases.

 

There are however, some instances when hiring a private investigator is probably NOT legal. Here are 4 areas you should consider:

• You’re just nosey – if you are simply a nosey person and want to pry into someone’s private life, then  you probably don’t have a legal reason to hire a private investigator. You should talk to an attorney first before you hire a private investigator. Just because you’re nosey and overly curious that doesn’t give you the right to poke your nose into other people’s business.

• You have a restraining order against you – Usually, you are able to investigate your own case but if someone has filed a restraining order against you, then you are limited in what you can do. You can still hire a private investigator legally but you must do so with the permission of your attorney and it’s probably a good idea to have your attorney hire the private investigator legally on your behalf. The last thing you want to do is make your situation any worse by making it seem like you are stalking.

• You want something illegal – if you ask a competent private investigator to do something that is illegal they will inform you of this and caution you to not ask for such a thing. No private investigator will risk their license to do something illegal for you. Things that are often asked of a private investigator that they will (and should) refuse to do for you: intimidate someone, threaten someone who owes you money, tap phones, install spyware, break into a property, cause someone to have an accident, intimidate a witness. These are all illegal for a common person and so they are illegal for a private investigator.

• If it seems illegal –  then it probably is. The safest bet is to ask your attorney for advice, or ask any attorney for advice. Don’t take advice from your buddies, your girlfriend or someone you just met in jail. Only consider advice from a licensed attorney who will be happy to guide you as to what is legal and what is illegal. This is the only advice you should follow and if you follow your attorney’s advice you won’t get into any legal difficulties.

 

Is hiring a private investigator legal? Of course, so long as you are legally permitted to do so, and you’re not asking the private investigator to do anything illegal, or morally reprehensible. You should also make sure that any private investigator you speak with is properly licensed and insured. This is very important as unlicensed private investigators are likely to do things that are illegal and could get you in a world of trouble.

 

If you are looking for an affordable licensed private investigator, with 20 years of experience assisting individuals, attorneys and corporations feel free to contact us here. You can also view a portion of our extensive client list here, and see what actual clients say about us here.