Not too long ago, the smoking gun in a divorce case was a receipt for a hotel room found in a coat pocket or a lipstick-stained collar straight out of a country song. Evidence was physical, tangible, and often, easily deniable. It was a world of “he said, she said.” But now, as any experienced Chicago, IL divorce lawyer will attest to, welcome to the new world.
Today, the most powerful private investigator isn’t a person in a trench coat with a long-lens camera. It’s the Amazon Alexa sitting on your kitchen counter, the Ring doorbell that sees every person who comes and goes, and the smartphone in your pocket that’s silently logging your every move. We’ve willingly invited an army of digital spies into our lives, and in a divorce, they are ready to testify.
The old playbook is obsolete. In a modern Illinois or Michigan divorce, your entire digital life is a potential exhibit, and the “he said, she said” of the past has been replaced by cold, hard, timestamped data. Here’s how.
The Walls Have Ears, Eyes, & A Log Of Who Used The Thermostat
Your smart home is designed for convenience, but it’s also a meticulous record-keeper of your life.
Doorbell & Security Cameras (Ring, Nest): This is the obvious one. Footage can definitively prove when a spouse leaves the house and returns. It can show a new partner spending the night, which can impact spousal support or custody arrangements. It can also capture heated arguments in the driveway.
Voice Assistants (Alexa, Google Home): These devices are always listening for a “wake word.” While they aren’t recording everything 24/7, they do keep a log of your commands and questions. These queries can paint a surprisingly detailed picture of a person’s life and intentions. Even more critically, accidental activations can and have recorded entire arguments, which can be subpoenaed.
Shared Systems (Thermostats, Smart Locks): Did your spouse claim they haven’t been back to the house in weeks? The log from your Nest thermostat or August smart lock might tell a very different story.
A quick legal note: Be aware of recording laws. Michigan is a “one-party consent” state for audio recordings, meaning you can record a conversation if you are part of it. Illinois is a “two-party consent” state, meaning you generally need everyone’s permission to record a private conversation. Illegally obtained recordings are useless.
The Spy In Your Pocket And On Your Wrist
Your smartphone is the single most powerful piece of evidence in a modern divorce. It’s a tracker, a camera, a financial ledger, and a social diary all in one.
GPS & Location Data: Google Maps, Find My Friends, and even the geotags on your photos create an undeniable timeline of your whereabouts. This data can be used against you.
Fitness Trackers & Health Apps: It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Data from an Apple Watch or Fitbit showing a suddenly erratic sleep pattern at a new address, or a heart rate spike at 2 a.m., has been used to suggest a new living arrangement.
Ride-Sharing & Food Delivery Apps: Your Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash history is a detailed log of your life: where you went, when you went, and who you were with. An Uber receipt to a divorce lawyer’s office can establish intent, while a late-night DoorDash order to an unfamiliar address can tell its own story.
The Money Trail
Hiding money used to involve secret bank accounts or cash in a safe deposit box. Now, the money trail is digital, and it’s often more revealing.
Venmo, Zelle, And PayPal: These apps are a goldmine. The transaction itself is proof of payment, but the real evidence is often in the memo line. A payment to a new partner with a heart emoji or an inside joke can be used to establish the timeline of an affair and prove the “dissipation” of marital assets.
Cryptocurrency: Many people think crypto is an anonymous way to hide money. They are wrong. While it’s more complex, a forensic accountant can often trace transactions on the blockchain and, by doing so, uncover hidden wealth that a spouse thought was untraceable.
The Digital Ghost
This is the most crucial concept to understand: the internet is forever. The data you create leaves a permanent digital ghost that tells the story of your life, whether you want it to or not.
Deleted Isn’t Deleted: A text message, email, or photo you delete from your device can almost always be recovered by a forensic expert. In fact, intentionally deleting information (spoliation of evidence) can result in severe penalties from the court.
The Cloud Is A Witness: Your iCloud or Google Photos account is a treasure trove of timestamped and geotagged evidence. Even if you delete a photo from your phone, it may still exist on a cloud server.
Your Friends Are A Liability: You might lock down your own social media, but you can’t control your friends. Being tagged in an incriminating photo or story at a party when you claimed to be sick can be just as damaging as posting it yourself.
This isn’t meant to be a scare tactic. It’s the new reality. The same technology that can be used against you can also be used to protect you by proving your side of the story and holding a dishonest spouse accountable.
We know how to find the evidence that matters and how to protect you from the digital ghost in your own machine. If you’re in Illinois or Michigan and ready to helm the complexities of a modern divorce, book a consultation with Merel Family Law today by giving us a call.
