Photo by Markus Spiske
In the world of finance and legal matters, asset investigations play a crucial role in uncovering hidden assets and liabilities. Asset investigation involves gathering information about assets and liabilities through various methods and sources, like public records. Helping detect or prevent fraud, cleaning up collections, and resolving legal disputes.
What Is An Asset Investigation?
An asset investigation involves examining the financial records of individuals or entities to determine the location of their assets. This process is widely used by individuals, businesses, and law enforcement agencies to ensure transparency and fairness in various situations.
Businesses frequently use asset investigations during disputes when one party suspects assets were hidden or transferred to another location. These investigations aim to uncover undisclosed financial information, which can be presented as evidence in court proceedings.
Do Asset Searches Also Look For Liabilities?
Asset investigations are typically used to identify the assets of an individual or a business. A liability is an obligation to pay debts and can be considered part of the asset investigation process. Many asset investigation services include looking for liabilities alongside assets.
Searching for liabilities can also help uncover potential fraud or deceitful behavior by an individual or company. Many individuals hide their assets but fail to consider their existing debts in that process.
How Does An Asset Investigation Work?
Asset investigators gather information through various methods and sources to accurately determine the location of different types of assets, including:
- Real estate
- Bank accounts
- Stocks & bonds
- Personal property
- Or other forms of investments
Hidden assets are commonly uncovered during public records searches, with the most common ones being:
- Property deeds
- Mortgage documents
- Financial statements
- Court records
These records can provide valuable information about an individual’s or business’s assets, including their estimated value. Investigators may also examine social media profiles for clues on an individual’s wealth based on their lifestyle.
Common Uses For Asset Investigations
Fraud
Fraud is one of the most common reasons people hire asset investigation services. It takes many forms, including embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, and other fraudulent activities that can cause financial loss to innocent parties.
An asset investigation can help detect and expose fraud by identifying any hidden assets or financial transactions that may have been used to conceal the fraud.
Asset investigations can be particularly helpful in divorce or business disputes where one party suspects fraudulent activity from the other party. These investigations can reveal hidden assets or transfers of funds that may have been done in an attempt to defraud the other party.
An asset investigation can provide crucial evidence to support a legal case and ensure an equitable outcome. In addition to uncovering fraudulent activity, asset investigations also help prevent future instances of fraud by informing stakeholders about potential risks.
By investigating and analyzing financial activities thoroughly, businesses and individuals alike are better equipped to take steps to protect their assets from potential fraudsters.
Collections
Asset investigations can be beneficial for collection purposes. If you are attempting to collect a debt from an individual or business, it’s important to understand their available assets to determine your likelihood of being paid back.
Asset investigation services can also help you identify assets that can be seized or garnished to satisfy the debt. One common use of asset investigations in collections is to locate bank accounts.
By examining financial records, investigators can determine where an individual or business holds their accounts and how much money is in them. Creditors or attorneys can use this information to initiate a bank levy, which freezes the account and allows funds to be seized up to the amount of the debt owed.
In addition, asset investigations may reveal other types of assets that could be seized, such as real estate, vehicles, or valuable personal property.
Another use of asset investigation services for collections is identifying potential sources of income. Investigators can examine public records and other sources to determine if the debtor has any sources of income that could be garnished to pay off the debt owed.
This could include wages from employment, rental income from property ownership, or other forms of passive income. By knowing how much income is being generated by the debtor and from what sources, creditors can take steps toward recovering their debt through wage garnishment orders or similar legal actions.
Legal Disputes
Legal disputes can be incredibly stressful and complex, and asset investigations can be a critical tool for resolving these disputes. A legal dispute often arises between two parties with certain assets at stake.
An asset investigation can help one party learn more about the other’s assets to make strategic decisions to help them come out ahead. In some cases, an asset investigation may be conducted as part of a preliminary legal strategy to determine whether or not a legal claim is worth pursuing.
In other cases, it may be used during the discovery process or even after a judgment has been issued to locate assets that might be seized to satisfy the judgment. A skilled investigator will use various techniques and methods to uncover hidden or obscured assets that might otherwise go unnoticed.
If someone has been awarded damages from another party but has not yet received payment, an asset investigation can locate hidden or liquidated assets owned by the person ordered to pay damages, allowing for the collection of the owed funds.
Asset investigations are frequently used during legal disputes as they provide vital information that helps parties make strategic decisions and recover what is rightfully owed to them.
Conclusion: How Asset Investigations Find Different Assets & Liabilities
An asset investigation is a vital tool that can significantly affect various legal and financial cases. Through asset investigations, individuals and organizations can effectively identify an individual or company’s assets and liabilities.
Asset investigation services are essential in fraud detection, collections, and legal disputes, among other areas. Asset investigations can reveal hidden assets or unreported income from fraudulent activities in fraud detection cases. With the help of an expert investigator, the victim can locate and recover their stolen assets. Contact us today to learn more.
