Being able to locate assets is an important skill to have. There are literally hundreds of circumstances in which it can benefit you to find hidden assets, and you’ll want to know how to do so before you are actually in a situation that requires this action.
The Top Reasons
Here are the top 7 reasons you may need to locate assets:
- Prior to Filing Litigation - Before filing litigation against a party, you need to make sure you are fully prepared. Because the success of the case ultimately depends on how much the opposing party can pay in damages and reparations, it is important to know what they actually have. Defendants will often attempt to hide assets through any number of mediums, so you may have to look deeper than surface level.
- New Investments - Investment fraud is a huge issue in this country. One of the biggest red flags is when you discover an investment manager living well beyond his/her means. If you discover an investment manager has made large, unreasonable purchases recently, it could confirm your suspicions.
- Divorce Proceedings - While divorce proceedings are often fairly straightforward, it is possible that joint assets may have been obtained without the other spouse’s knowledge.
- Due Diligence - When attempting to acquire interest in something, it can be valuable to learn how much assets are worth and where they came from.
- Leverage - Nothing provides more leverage in a negotiation process than knowing what the other party can and cannot afford to offer.
- Background Screening - If you are responsible for hiring a new employee, a quick check of assets can show past financial trends and predict future behavior.
- Judgment Recovery - Once a judgment has been ordered, you may have to locate the party from which to collect the judgment. Locating assets may be able to help.
Ways to Locate Hidden Assets
While there are many reasons for locating hidden assets, there are also plenty of ways to uncover them. Whether crazy or sane, you can find a way. Here are some options:
- Surveillance - Yes, like the stuff you see in the movies. Following someone around for a few days can tell you a lot. You’ll discover where they work, where they eat, what they do, etc. You also may learn about assets not listed under their name, such as cars, boats, or second homes.
- Interviews - Speak with former business associates, colleagues, and neighbors to see if there were any red flags in the past.
- Overseas Assets - Tracking down overseas assets is extremely difficult, but also highly rewarding. Overseas asset parking is a very popular practice, and if you can figure out how to find them, you may be rewarded.
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Search Public Records – the search of the Grantor Grantee indexes in counties where a party may own assets is helpful. It is important to search everything they bought (Grantee) and then everything the sold (Grantor) and whatever is left over is what the own.
