(FORTUNE Magazine) – In 1998, Tampa attorney David Maney faced a quandary. His client had been granted ownership of a cockatoo in the course of divorce proceedings. Both members of the couple had grown attached to the bird, and when the ex-wife handed it over, Maney's client became suspicious. "My client felt the bird had a different personality," says the attorney, "and he was troubled."

Maney remembered reading about a California firm specializing in avian DNA testing. His client had kept a feather from the original cockatoo as a keepsake; by having it compared with one plucked from the current bird, Maney was able to prove that the ex-wife had pulled a switch. "The judge ordered her to turn over the proper bird, to pay all costs, and gave her a 30-day suspended sentence," Maney exults.

Forensic science is usually associated with murder, kidnapping, and terrorism. But thanks to high-profile events like the O.J. Simpson trial--and TV programs like the Discovery Channel's New Detectives--techniques like DNA testing, handwriting analysis, and radioimmunoassay are increasingly filtering down into matrimonial courtrooms.

"A good attorney is always looking for an edge, a better way to prove a case," says New York-based divorce lawyer Peter Bronstein. "And what better way than this? Everyone loves scientific evidence!"

Back in 1988, Bronstein became the first divorce lawyer to use radioimmunoassay technology, which can detect traces of chemicals in hair samples weeks or months after ingestion. A client was concerned that his ex-wife, who was seeking custody of their children, was not a fit mother due to ongoing cocaine use. After a hair sample retrieved from a shower drain tested positive, the children were taken away from their mother, who eventually became clean. "Everyone was a winner," says Bronstein.

Recent advances can also help identify who wrote--or didn't write--documents that bear on disposition of assets. "If an envelope has been licked or a stamp has been licked, DNA from the saliva can tell us the identity of the sender," says Mark Stolorow, a general manager for Cellmark Diagnostics, the Maryland firm that ran forensic testing for the O.J. Simpson prosecution.

To be sure, not all splitting couples are likely to seek help from high-tech forensic science. Lab tests and expert testimony take time and cost money. But there are plenty of people with lots of money--and all the problems that go with it. "When it comes to money, people--especially people who haven't earned it in the traditional way--get kind of funny," says L.A. divorce attorney Stephen Kolodny. "It's a strange business."

--JEFF WISE