Simon felt his wife, Terry, was behaving suspiciously. He felt the strong urge to find out what she was up to, but he wasn’t sure what to do. Simon wondered if you can legally snoop on your spouse. Hopefully, he will check with an attorney before doing anything.
Wiretapping, Eavesdropping, and Surveillance – Oh, My!
Some of the ways you might use to snoop on your spouse include:
- Installing hidden cameras,
- Putting a tracking device on their car,
- Adding keylogging software to electronic devices,
- Accessing private email and bank accounts, and
- Hacking into password-protected devices.
All of these are a terrible idea and could violate a number of laws.
For example, in California, you can put up security cameras around and even in your home. However, audio recordings are prohibited unless all parties give their consent.
More importantly, recording devices cannot be installed where your spouse or other parties have the right to expect privacy.
Right to Privacy in a Marriage
You and your spouse share a home, a bed, and probably at least one bank account. However, you each have the right to keep certain information private. Your spouse is bound by the same surveillance or snooping laws that keep your neighbor from wiretapping your phone.
Grounds Not Required – So Why Snoop on Your Spouse?
You might be tempted to legally snoop on your spouse.
But why?
What you find might firm up your decision to file for divorce – while causing a lot more heartbreak. However, not only will the information probably be inadmissible in court, but you don’t even need it. California is a no-fault divorce state, which means you do not need grounds for divorce.
Breaking the Law Hurts You
Depending on what you find, your spouse might not be held accountable for his or her actions. However, you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law. When you snoop on your spouse, you could be breaking laws regarding illegal surveillance and the right to privacy.
Anyone else you happen to surveil could be angry enough to press charges if you broke the law. It’s simply better all-around to talk to an experienced California divorce attorney before doing anything. There might be ways to legally investigate your spouse’s activities.