SPOUSAL SPYING GROWING ISSUE FOR DIVORCING MINNESOTA COUPLES

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP

A Minnesota man spent 30 days in jail for planting some high-tech tracking devices on his estranged wife's car and phone. The man and his now ex-wife were on the brink of a divorce, and the man wanted to find out whether his wife was having an affair.

While his actions may disturb some, other see them as part of a growing trend. Regular individuals can now access sophisticated spying technology once only available to government agencies and large corporations. Many couples use that technology to spy on each other both immediately before and during the dissolution of their marriage.

While one might think that spying is more common in a contested divorce so that a spouse can use evidence against the other spouse, it appears that many spouses use it simply so that they can know whether their husband or wife has cheated on them. Ironically, in most cases, a Minnesota court deciding a divorce will not factor in whether a spouse had an affair that ruined a marriage because Minnesota is a no-fault divorce state.

Still, perhaps the information that a spouse gets from spying brings some sense of emotional closure. Others may find the information helpful in a high asset divorce, simply because both the extent and the value of marital property may be a key issue.

In any event, spouses need to be careful when surreptitiously gathering information on their own, as doing so can carry significant legal consequences. Minnesota law affords a person the opportunity to gather information legally during a divorce, and those going through a divorce are probably best off to rely on that opportunity.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, "A spy-gear arms race transforms modern divorce," Steve Eder and Jennifer Valentino-Devries, Oct. 5, 2012