Family Law
Family law digital forensics in British Columbia.
Hidden cryptocurrency, deleted text messages, location history and shared-device evidence, collected with the authority a BC family court expects and reported in plain English.
Scoping note. We only examine devices and accounts that the retaining party has lawful authority to authorise — for example, a jointly owned device, the client's own device, or a device produced under court order. We do not access spousal-only accounts or devices without that authority.
Typical matters
Where we are most often retained.
- Divorce and matrimonial disputes
- Custody and parenting evidence
- Hidden asset and financial discovery
- Communication evidence preservation
- Deleted message and app-activity recovery
- Mobile device and cloud account review
Engagements we run
What this looks like in practice
- Mobile forensics to recover deleted text messages, photo and location metadata, app activity, and financial-app records.
- Computer forensics of laptops and home computers shared during the relationship.
- Communication evidence preservation for messages, emails, and social media activity relevant to the matter.
What clients tell us matters most
Priorities we hear from this industry.
Sensitivity to the human dynamic. Family matters are not commercial litigation. We approach every engagement with the awareness that the people involved are under stress.
Plain-English reports for the court and the client. Findings that a Provincial Court or BC Supreme Court judge can absorb without a technical primer.
Defensibility under cross-examination. Family matters often produce some of the most aggressive cross-examination of forensic experts. Our methodology is documented to that standard.
Discretion. No press releases, no LinkedIn posts about matters. We treat every family engagement as confidential by default.
Services we provide for family law
Most-engaged forensic services.
Mobile Forensics
iOS and Android extraction including chip-off, JTAG, and ISP techniques for damaged or locked devices that conventional tools cannot read.
Read about Mobile ForensicsComputer Forensics
Forensic imaging and analysis of Windows, macOS, and Linux systems for litigation, internal investigations, and expert witness work.
Read about Computer ForensicsCloud Forensics
Defensible collection and analysis of Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, AWS, Slack, Teams, and Salesforce evidence under legal hold.
Read about Cloud ForensicsExpert Witness
Court-qualified expert witnesses delivering affidavits, expert reports, and trial testimony in Canadian civil and criminal matters.
Read about Expert WitnessCommon questions
Family Law questions we hear most.
What does "family law digital forensics" actually cover?
The forensic collection and examination of phones, computers, tablets and cloud accounts for evidence in a divorce, separation, parenting or support matter. Typical questions are whether messages were deleted, where a person or device was on a given day, whether assets or income were hidden, and what a shared family computer was used for. The work ends in a report that counsel can file and an examiner who can be cross-examined on it.
Can deleted text messages be recovered for a family law matter?
Often, yes, when we have access to the device. The strength of recovery depends on the device, the iOS or Android version, and how recently the deletion occurred. A full file system extraction recovers the most.
How do you handle hidden cryptocurrency in a divorce?
Through a combination of forensic device examination (wallet apps, exchange app data, browser extensions, seed-phrase artifacts), bank record analysis (fiat-to-crypto on-ramp transactions), and where applicable, on-chain tracing supported by interrogatories or production orders directed at named exchanges.
Is digital evidence admissible in BC family court?
Digital evidence is used in Provincial Court and BC Supreme Court family matters every week. What the court cares about is where it came from, whether it was altered, and whether it was obtained lawfully. A forensic acquisition with hash values, a documented chain of custody and a written methodology answers the first two. Authority to access the device or account answers the third, and that is a question for your lawyer before anything is collected.
Can I examine my spouse's phone or accounts myself?
We do not recommend it and we will not examine a device or account that the retaining party has no lawful authority over. Accessing another person's device or account without authority can engage the Criminal Code and the BC Privacy Act, and evidence collected that way may be excluded or count against the person who collected it. Jointly owned devices, your own devices, and devices produced under a court order are the usual lawful starting points.
Will my spouse find out you examined the device?
Most forensic acquisitions are not detectable by the device user after the fact. Where the device must be returned to shared use, we document the acquisition window and any artifacts the user might notice (battery impact, recent activity timestamps).
Can a court order be required for me to forensically examine a device?
Sometimes. If the device is jointly owned, or if your access to it is contested, counsel may need to seek a preservation order or production order before forensic work begins. We work with counsel on this analysis at scoping.
How long does a family law forensic examination take, and what does it cost?
A single phone or computer is usually acquired within a day of receipt and examined over one to two weeks, depending on what counsel needs proven. Every engagement starts with a scoping call and a written estimate, so there are no open-ended fees. Urgent preservation, for example before a device is returned or a hearing date, can be arranged.
Have a family law matter that needs digital evidence?
Tell us about the proceeding and what you need to prove. Our team will reach out as soon as possible.