A lifestyle investigation is an inquiry into the actual day-to-day reality of a person’s life — their living circumstances, their habits, their relationships, and their general conduct — as distinct from what they have claimed or represented about themselves. The term is used across several contexts: family law disputes, insurance claims, and personal injury litigation among them. This article focuses specifically on lifestyle investigations in a family and child welfare context.
What Lifestyle Investigations Establish
In a family law context, a lifestyle investigation typically aims to establish one or more of the following: where a person actually lives and with whom; whether their relationship status is accurately represented; the general pattern and stability of their daily life, including work, childcare, and routine; and any associations, habits, or circumstances that are relevant to an assessment of their suitability as a carer for a child.
The investigation does not seek to make moral judgments about how a person chooses to live their life. Its purpose is narrower and more specific: to establish accurate facts where those facts are relevant to a genuine question about a child’s welfare or to a family court’s assessment of competing accounts.
Methods Used
Surveillance: observation of a person’s movements and activities in public places, conducted within the legal framework that applies to private investigation in England and Wales.
Public record research: land registry searches, electoral roll data, and other public records that establish residence and other relevant facts.
Open source intelligence: review of publicly available information, including social media, that may be relevant to establishing the accuracy of representations made about lifestyle and circumstances.
Background checks: investigation of individuals connected to the case where there is a genuine welfare reason to do so.
The Standard We Apply
Lifestyle investigations are conducted proportionately and lawfully. We do not conduct surveillance in private spaces, we do not access private accounts or communications without consent, and we focus the investigation specifically on the facts that are relevant to the concern that justified it. An investigation that ranges beyond what is proportionate to the genuine concern is not one we will conduct, both because it is not appropriate and because family courts respond negatively to investigations that appear disproportionate or vindictive.
We report our findings honestly and completely. Where the investigation does not support the concern that prompted it, we say so clearly. The value of a properly conducted lifestyle investigation lies precisely in its objectivity — it tells you what is actually true, whether or not that confirms what you suspected.
Considering a lifestyle investigation? Contact UKPI for an honest assessment of your situation.
