Last updated: March 17, 2026
If you are here, you are probably trying to answer a simple question before you trust someone with something difficult: what is this likely to cost? The information below is here to give you a clear starting point. Every active plan opens the full service menu. What changes is your included time, your rate after that time is used, and how much expense coverage comes with the plan.
The plans are meant to make the cost side easier to follow. Included monthly time covers scheduled service, travel, and case communication. If the work goes beyond that included time, the listed overage rate applies, and any extra time you buy stays on your account while the subscription remains active.
| Plan | Monthly Price | Included Monthly Time | Scheduled Service and Communication Rate | Travel Time Rate | Expense Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $49.50/month | 0.5 hours (30 minutes) | $180/hour ($3.00/minute) | $180/hour ($3.00/minute) | $5/month |
| Standard | $495/month | 5 hours (300 minutes) | $165/hour ($2.75/minute) | $165/hour ($2.75/minute) | $50/month |
| Advanced | $4,950/month | 50 hours (3,000 minutes) | $150/hour ($2.50/minute) | $150/hour ($2.50/minute) | $500/month |
Each plan uses one shared pool of monthly minutes so you are not left guessing which kind of work is billed which way.
Scheduled services, travel time, and case communication all come out of that same pool. Text, audio, and video communication are also counted minute-by-minute, including investigator time spent reading and responding to messages.
Every active plan can be used across the full Family Private Investigator service menu, and next-day reports are included at no extra time cost.
Reports are normally delivered by 9:00 PM the day after service is completed. If that day falls on a holiday, delivery moves to the next business day unless Holiday Service is selected. Each report is organized so you, your attorney, or law enforcement can follow what happened without wading through a mess. Included monthly minutes do not roll over, but extra time you purchase stays on your account indefinitely and can be used while the subscription is active.
Available dates can be reserved up to 30 days ahead, and open time slots are assigned in booking order across active clients.
Because life changes quickly in family-law matters, reschedules and cancellations are built into the pricing rules. The 1st service change is free. The 2nd deducts 25% of the booked service and travel time, the 3rd deducts 50%, the 4th deducts 75%, and the 5th and beyond deduct 100%. For cancellations, any unused credited minutes are returned by source: monthly minutes return to monthly time, rollover minutes return to rollover time, and purchased minutes return to rollover time.
You can pause or cancel your subscription at any time. When paused, remaining days are saved until you resume. If cancelled, service access continues through the current billing cycle. No refunds.
Sometimes people need to stop, regroup, or wait for the next development in the case. Purchased rollover time cannot be used while the subscription is paused or cancelled, but becomes usable again after reactivation. Your subscription can also cover immediate family members living at the same address, including spouse, children, and parents. Family members who are 18 or older must agree to the Terms of Service, and minors require written permission from their parents.
Standard operating expenses like gas, standard tolls, and standard parking are always included. Ferry tolls and valet or premium parking are treated as non-standard expenses.
Non-standard expenses such as lodging, event tickets, vehicle rentals, court record fees, third-party services, private database fees, ferry tolls, valet or premium parking, and other case-required costs are covered up to your plan's monthly cap of $5, $50, or $500 depending on plan. Anything above that requires your approval and is charged at cost with no markup. During emergency response, the usual expense limits and approval rules do not apply.
Most of the time, the normal service and travel rates below are all you need. Surcharges come into play when the work becomes unusually urgent, falls outside normal hours, or needs faster turnaround. Same-day report, same-day service, and emergency-response surcharges apply to the full booking. After-hours, weekend, and holiday surcharges apply only to the portion of time that overlaps those windows.
| Rule | Rate | How It Applies |
|---|---|---|
| Same-Day Report | 10% | If you need your report delivered within 3 hours of completing service, the surcharge applies to service time and travel time. |
| Same-Day Service | 10% | Applies to service time and travel time for work scheduled within the same-day window of 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Pacific Time. |
| After-Hours Service | 10% | Applies only to the portion of service and travel time used between 6:00 PM and 8:59 AM Pacific Time. |
| Weekend Service | 10% | Applies only to the portion of service and travel time used on Saturday or Sunday. |
| Holiday Service | 200% | Applies only to the portion of service and travel time overlapping these windows: New Years Day (and day after), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (day before and after), Valentines Day (day before and after), Presidents Day (day before and after), St. Patricks Day (day before and after), Easter (day before and after), Cinco de Mayo (day before and after), Memorial Day (day before and after), Juneteenth (day before and after), Independence Day (day before and after), Labor Day (day before and after), Columbus Day (day before and after), Halloween (day before and after), Veterans Day (day before and after), Thanksgiving Day (day before and after), Christmas Eve, Christmas Day (and day after), and New Years Eve. |
| Emergency Response Service | 200% | Applies to service and travel time when emergency response conditions are met. By requesting emergency response, you authorize all necessary expenses on your behalf. |
Travel time deducts from your monthly minutes and is billed at the same rate as scheduled service time. Mileage is included.
Travel time is calculated from the Tacoma office to and from service locations. If more than one surcharge applies, those surcharges can stack.
24/7 emergency response is reserved for situations too urgent to schedule or complete payment through the normal process before service begins.
An active subscription in good standing is required. Emergency balances must be paid when the response ends, or no later than 24 hours after the response starts if work is still underway. Emergency status is determined at Family Private Investigator's sole discretion, response time is not guaranteed, and misuse may lead to added fees or account termination.
Emergency work is prioritized through triage based on the most critical active situation.
If your service is interrupted so a more urgent emergency can be handled, you receive double the interrupted service time back as credited minutes that roll over indefinitely. This is the only time included monthly subscription time is added back to your account.
Activate the trial with a one-time $4.95 payment. That creates a 30-minute service credit that expires 1 month after activation.
Choose the Family Private Investigator service you want the 30-minute credit applied toward after we confirm scope and legal fit.
Begin service and receive a report when the planned work is complete. Only one trial credit may be used per person, household, or organization.
No. There are no long-term contracts. You can pause or cancel your subscription at any time. If you pause, your remaining days are saved until you resume. If you cancel, service access continues through the end of the current billing cycle.
Yes. Every active plan can be used across the full Family Private Investigator service menu. What changes by plan is your included monthly time, overage rate, and monthly expense coverage.
Scheduled service, travel time, and case communication all draw from your included monthly minutes. Text, audio, and video communication are counted minute-by-minute, including investigator time spent reading and responding.
They share the same monthly service-change pool. The 1st service change is free. The 2nd deducts 25% of the booked service and travel time, the 3rd deducts 50%, the 4th deducts 75%, and the 5th and beyond deduct 100%. For cancellations, unused credited minutes are returned by source.
Next-day reports are included and are normally delivered by 9:00 PM on the calendar day after service is completed. If that date lands on a holiday, delivery moves to the next business day unless Holiday Service is selected.
Each report includes an event timeline, supporting photos or video, and other case evidence with date, time, and location context. Materials are reviewed for accuracy before release to you, your attorney, or law enforcement.
Included monthly minutes expire at the end of each billing cycle. Any extra time you buy beyond the plan remains on the account indefinitely, but it can only be used while your subscription is active and is charged at your plan's listed service rate.
You can reserve available dates up to 30 days ahead through the online calendar. Open time slots are assigned in booking order across active clients.
Standard operating expenses are always included. Non-standard expenses such as lodging, event tickets, vehicle rentals, court record fees, third-party services, private database fees, ferry tolls, and valet or premium parking are covered up to your plan's monthly cap. Anything above that requires your approval before being incurred, unless you request emergency response.
Yes. All surcharges stack. After-hours, weekend, and holiday surcharges apply only to the overlapping portion of service and travel time. Same-day report, same-day service, and emergency-response surcharges apply according to their full rule definitions.
Emergency response requires an active subscription in good standing. Payment is due when service ends or, if the response is still active, within 24 hours of start time. Unpaid emergency balances can trigger account suspension until the balance is cleared.
Tell us what is happening, what feels most urgent, and how much help you think you may need. We will help you understand the likely pricing path before any paid work begins.