Marriage, separation, divorce, shared property, or previous location sharing does not automatically give someone unlimited authority to monitor a spouse or former spouse under Florida Statute § 934.425.

A suspicion that a spouse is cheating, hiding assets, violating a parenting agreement, or spending time somewhere unexpected can create a powerful temptation to monitor that person's movements. Modern technology makes that possible through GPS units, AirTags, vehicle applications, family-location accounts, and smartphone tracking software. Florida law, however, specifically regulates nonconsensual location tracking, and the fact that two people are married or were previously married does not create a general exception. Florida Statute § 934.425 can expose a person to a felony charge for knowingly installing or placing qualifying tracking technology on another person's property without consent or knowingly using that technology to determine another person's location or movement without consent. The statute becomes particularly important during divorce or domestic conflict because Florida law expressly identifies circumstances in which previously given tracking consent is presumed revoked. If you are being investigated for tracking a spouse or ex-spouse, I would closely examine consent, ownership, divorce filings, injunction proceedings, vehicle records, account records, and the exact dates of the alleged monitoring.

What Does A Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Look For In Spousal Tracking Cases?

Section 934.425 covers both physical tracking devices and software applications. A tracking device is generally defined as technology whose primary purpose is revealing its location or movement through electronic signals, while a tracking application is software primarily intended to track or identify an individual's location or movement.

The statute prohibits knowingly installing or placing either type of tracking technology on another person's property without consent. It also prohibits knowingly using the technology to determine the location or movement of another person or another person's property without consent, unless a statutory exception applies.

For spouses and former spouses, that creates several potential disputes at once. One person may own the vehicle being driven by the other. Both spouses may have jointly used a location-sharing application. A GPS service may have been activated years before the marriage began to deteriorate. One spouse may have changed passwords while the other remained signed into the account.

A private criminal defense attorney should reconstruct what actually happened rather than assume that the end of a relationship proves secret surveillance. I would review the technology, ownership documents, text messages, application invitations, divorce filings, injunction records, and digital logs that show who accessed what information and when.

Does Marriage Give Permission To Track Your Spouse?

No general provision in § 934.425 says that marriage itself authorizes one spouse to secretly track the other. Consent and the statutory exceptions still matter.

A married couple may voluntarily share their locations. They may have a family account that shows each person's phone, a vehicle application available to both spouses, or another arrangement under which each person knows the other's location can be viewed.

That prior consent can be significant evidence. It may show that an application or device was not secretly installed and that location information was originally shared by agreement.

The analysis changes if that permission is withdrawn. Florida's statute goes even further in specified domestic situations by creating a legal presumption that consent has been revoked.

Divorce Filings Can Revoke Consent Under Florida Law

Section 934.425(3) contains an unusually important rule for spouses. When the consenting person and the person who received consent are lawfully married, the statute provides that consent is presumed revoked when either person files a petition for dissolution of marriage.

That provision can change a case dramatically. Suppose a husband and wife used location sharing for years and each knowingly viewed the other's location. If one spouse files for divorce, relying solely on the fact that permission existed during the marriage may no longer answer the criminal-law question.

The date of filing therefore matters. I would compare it to the dates on which the State claims tracking occurred and determine whether application or device records show any relevant access after the petition was filed.

Consent is also presumed revoked when either person files for specified protective injunctions under §§ 741.30, 741.315, 784.046, or 784.0485.

A criminal investigation arising during a divorce or injunction proceeding can therefore require coordination between digital evidence and court records. A private attorney can identify these timelines before a statement to police creates additional problems.

Can You Track An Ex-Spouse After The Divorce?

Being a former spouse does not provide a separate exception under § 934.425. If an ex-spouse does not consent and no other statutory exception applies, secretly installing or using qualifying tracking technology may create criminal exposure.

The facts may become more complicated when former spouses share children or property. For example, one parent may believe location monitoring is justified because a minor child is traveling with the other parent. Florida's parental exception, however, contains detailed conditions and should not be treated as unlimited authority to track the other parent.

When divorced, separated, or otherwise living apart, the parental exception concerning a minor child's property requires both parents or legal guardians to consent to qualifying installation, placement, or use, unless another provision of the statute applies.

That distinction can matter when a tracker is placed in a child's backpack, phone, vehicle, or other property but effectively reveals the other parent's movements. I would examine the purpose, ownership of the property, parenting arrangement, statutory requirements, and actual data being collected.

What If You Own The Car Your Spouse Drives?

Vehicle ownership creates one of the most important potential exceptions in these cases. Section 934.425 contains an exception for a qualifying owner or lessee who installs, places, or uses tracking technology on the motor vehicle during the ownership or lease period, subject to statutory requirements.

That means the name on the title or lease can matter enormously. A vehicle may be driven every day by one spouse while legally owned or leased by the other. A jointly titled vehicle may present different questions.

The exception also contains requirements concerning removal when title is transferred or a lease ends, unless the new owner or lessor provides the written consent specified in the statute or another statutory condition applies.

I would obtain title records, registration, financing agreements, leases, divorce orders, property-settlement documents, and transfer records before deciding whether the vehicle exception applies. Informal statements such as "that was her car" or "I paid for it" do not necessarily resolve the statutory ownership question.

When Can Spousal Tracking Become A More Serious Felony?

An ordinary violation of § 934.425 is a third-degree felony under current Florida law. A third-degree felony can generally result in up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

The tracking offense becomes a second-degree felony when it is committed to commit or facilitate a dangerous crime identified under § 907.041(5)(a). A second-degree felony generally carries a maximum sentence of 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000.

This enhancement is particularly important in relationship cases because stalking and aggravated stalking are listed among Florida's dangerous crimes.

The State should still be required to prove the facts supporting the enhancement. I would challenge any attempt to transform an ordinary tracking allegation into a second-degree felony merely because the people involved were spouses or former partners.

Related Stalking And Injunction Issues

Florida Statute § 784.048 addresses stalking and aggravated stalking. Tracking technology can become one part of a larger prosecution when the State alleges repeated following, harassment, threats, or violations of protective orders.

A prosecutor may rely on evidence that someone repeatedly appeared at locations known only through tracking data, sent messages referring to private movements, or continued monitoring despite instructions to stop. Those surrounding facts can affect both charging decisions and bond conditions.

The existence of tracking technology does not itself establish every element of stalking. I would require the State to prove each alleged offense independently and would examine whether conduct characterized as harassment had a legitimate explanation or whether the defendant actually used the tracking information attributed to him or her.

A private attorney is especially important when a criminal case and a family-law dispute overlap. Statements made in one proceeding can affect another, and communications that seem helpful in a divorce case may create criminal-law problems if they are handled without considering both matters.

Defenses A Florida Criminal Defense Attorney May Raise

Potential defenses depend heavily on consent, timing, technology, and property rights.

I may investigate whether:

• The spouse or ex-spouse consented to the location sharing during the charged period.

• The State cannot prove tracking occurred after consent was revoked.

• The defendant owned or leased the tracked motor vehicle and falls within the statutory exception.

• Another person had access to the account, device, application, or password.

• The defendant never knowingly accessed location information.

• A tracker was installed during an earlier period when its presence was lawful.

• The technology does not satisfy the statutory definition charged by prosecutors.

• Police unlawfully searched a phone, computer, vehicle, cloud account, or residence.

• The evidence cannot establish who installed, placed, or used the tracking technology.

A strong defense may combine several of these points rather than depend on only one explanation.

Example of How I May Build the Defense

Consider an illustrative case in which a husband is accused of tracking his wife during a contentious separation. Police discover that her vehicle can be located through the manufacturer's mobile application, and the husband's phone is logged into the family account. The wife tells detectives she never gave him permission to track her after she moved out.

I would obtain the vehicle title, application records, divorce docket, account-access history, and earlier communications between the spouses. Suppose the title shows that my client remained the sole legal owner of the vehicle, the manufacturer's application had been activated by both spouses years earlier, and the digital records do not show my client accessing the location function after the dissolution petition was filed.

Those facts could materially undermine the State's theory that he knowingly engaged in unlawful post-revocation tracking. I could use them to challenge probable cause, seek dismissal when supported by the evidence, dispute the State's identification theory, or pursue reduction of the charge or penalties if prosecutors continue the case.

This example illustrates how I may build a defense and does not represent a fabricated past Musca Law result. I will not claim a prior victory that has not been documented, and every actual case must be evaluated on its own facts.

Florida Criminal Defense FAQs About Tracking A Spouse Or Ex-Spouse

Is It Illegal To Track My Wife Or Husband Without Permission?

It can be. Florida law generally prohibits knowingly placing qualifying tracking technology on another person's property without consent or knowingly using it to determine that person's location or movement without consent when no statutory exception applies. Marriage itself is not listed as a blanket exception.

If your spouse previously agreed to location sharing, that evidence can matter. The key question may become whether permission still existed during the specific period prosecutors claim the tracking occurred.

Does Filing For Divorce Automatically End Previous Tracking Consent?

Florida law creates a presumption that previous consent is revoked when spouses are lawfully married and either one files a petition for dissolution of marriage.

That makes the filing date particularly important. If prosecutors allege tracking after the divorce petition was filed, an earlier agreement to share locations may not provide the same defense it would have provided before that event.

What If I Suspect My Spouse Is Cheating?

Suspected adultery does not create an express exception under § 934.425. A person should not assume that wanting evidence of infidelity permits otherwise prohibited tracking.

From a criminal-defense standpoint, motive can also become evidence. Statements such as admitting that a tracker was installed specifically to determine where a spouse went can help prosecutors establish knowing conduct, so I would advise getting legal counsel before speaking with investigators.

Can I Track My Child When The Child Is With My Ex-Spouse?

Florida's parental exception contains specific conditions. When parents are divorced, separated, or otherwise living apart, the statute generally requires both parents or legal guardians to consent to qualifying tracking involving the minor child's property under that exception.

These cases can be particularly sensitive because technology attached to a child's property may also reveal the other parent's location. I would review the parenting plan, custody status, property involved, consent evidence, and statutory requirements before assuming that parental status resolves the issue.

Can Tracking My Ex Lead To A Stalking Charge Too?

Potentially. Florida's dangerous-crime statute expressly includes stalking and aggravated stalking, and tracking evidence may become part of a broader stalking investigation depending on the surrounding conduct.

A tracking charge and a stalking charge still have different statutory elements. I would examine each independently and challenge any attempt to treat a single piece of electronic evidence as automatic proof of multiple crimes.

Why Should I Hire A Private Attorney During A Divorce-Related Tracking Investigation?

These cases often involve both criminal-law and domestic-relations evidence. Divorce petitions, injunctions, vehicle ownership, parenting arrangements, account histories, text messages, and previous location-sharing agreements can all affect the criminal analysis.

A private attorney can construct the timeline, preserve electronic records, communicate with detectives when appropriate, challenge unlawful searches, identify statutory exceptions, and attempt to resolve the criminal case without allowing an emotionally charged family dispute to substitute for proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Contact A Florida Criminal Defense Attorney About Spouse Or Ex-Spouse Tracking Charges

A tracking allegation involving a spouse or former spouse can become a felony case, and Florida law specifically changes the consent analysis after certain divorce and injunction filings. I would examine the relationship history and the electronic evidence together because a few dates, ownership records, or account logs can substantially affect whether the State can prove its case.

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