Hidden Income Investigations

If reported earnings do not seem to match someone’s work activity, we can investigate side jobs, self-employment and business connections. You receive a dated account of what records and observations show, with leads your attorney can pursue through the appropriate financial documents.

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What Does This Investigation Cover?

Hidden Income Investigations

Cash work and informal jobs may leave a different trail from a regular paycheck. Public business activity, work routines and authorized records can help establish whether work is occurring and when. We check those indicators without treating a busy schedule or expensive purchase as proof of a particular income.

Common examples: employment verification, business-link research, public-facing work activity review, and timeline-based routine documentation.
Use cases: support modification, child-support cases, alimony disputes, and contested financial disclosures in divorce.
What you receive: sourced work and business findings, an activity timeline and a report identifying which earnings questions still need financial records or specialist review.

What Services Support This Investigation?

Hidden-income work often combines business research with observations over relevant work periods. The methods depend on the claim being disputed.

Background Check Services

Trace relevant business, property and court records to identify connections missing from the financial account you have been given.

Digital Forensics Services

Review authorized financial files and activity records with their dates and sources intact, making it easier to compare them with claimed work history.

Location Services

Check where a business operates or where work is reported to take place before planning further inquiry.

Surveillance Services

Document work activity during agreed periods, including recurring arrivals, departures and observable tasks relevant to the claim.

Legal Support Services

Prepare a chronology and source index that lets your attorney identify the factual basis for possible financial follow-up.

Washington Law and Court Sources

The linked child support and modification provisions give legal context for support disputes. Counsel can identify which earnings questions matter and which financial records require formal process.

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What Should You Expect From This Process?

Tell us what income has been reported, what work you believe is occurring and the basis for that concern. We can then discuss which sources might corroborate it.

First call: Your initial consultation is free and lasts 30 minutes. We discuss the question, your deadline and whether investigation can help. Additional communication outside the agreed task is $150 per hour, prepaid separately; communication included in the task is not charged twice.
Typical planning window: Most plans are developed within 48 hours of intake once the facts, urgency, and legal posture are clear.
Costs: Lite is $150 per investigator-hour; Heavy is $300 per investigator-hour. Preparation and report writing each cost $150/hour. Round-trip travel from our Tacoma office is $2.50/minute. Other time is billed in whole hours, with partial hours rounded up. Each purchased service hour carries $15 in expense credit for Lite or $30 for Heavy. Credits on hours used for your task cover only that task's expenses; any remainder expires at report delivery. Expenses are charged at cost. Applicable surcharges are separate dollar charges, not deductions from service hours. We confirm the work, schedule and prepaid costs by text and email. See Pricing for unused-time, credit, specialist and other fee terms.
Reporting: We describe the observed activity and documented business links, with dates and sources. The report distinguishes those findings from earnings amounts that have not been verified.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hidden Income Investigations

What counts as hidden income in a family-law case?

The concern may involve undisclosed cash jobs, side work or self-employment. Evidence of business activity can support further inquiry, but it does not alone prove concealment or establish take-home earnings. Business revenue is not necessarily personal net income.

Can you investigate cash work or side jobs?

Yes. We may research public business activity and document relevant work patterns over agreed periods. Cash jobs do not always produce an accessible payroll record, so the report explains the observations and any corroborating sources rather than assigning an unsupported earnings figure.

Is hidden-income work different from hidden-assets work?

Yes. Income work examines earnings and work activity; asset work examines property, ownership and control. A business can raise both questions, but a connection to the business does not by itself establish its value or the owner’s personal income.

Should my attorney be involved early in a hidden-income investigation?

Yes, particularly when a support hearing, modification request or disputed disclosure is approaching. Your attorney can identify the claim that needs testing and whether the resulting leads should be followed through financial discovery.

Need help deciding what to do next?

Share the work or business activity that concerns you and the reported income it seems to conflict with. We will discuss a practical way to check the facts.

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