Depending upon the circumstances, you may need our services to perform a search for assets before you file suit against another party. There are also reasons you may need our assistance after a judgment has been issued by the court. Here are some situations in which you might want to perform an asset search either before or after you take legal action.
Identifying assets of a debtor
Litigation can be costly, and a calculation must be made whether it will be worth the expense of bringing a lawsuit against someone. A perfect example of this is bad debts. Unless the debtor has assets that can be liquidated, there is no reason to file a lawsuit. We can identify assets that exist. You can then decide on a value for these assets, and whether it will be worth the legal cost to pursue a debt collection.
Prior to a divorce
It is not uncommon for a man or woman to hide assets from a spouse, but these assets may be considered community property and should be divided between the couple at the time of a divorce. It is entirely possible for a spouse to attempt to hide one or more assets when he or she first realizes that a divorce is on the horizon. Although this is illegal, it happens quite often. We can discover any hidden assets before a spouse knows that a divorce may be coming. If there is an attempt to hide an asset, it will already be documented that the asset exists.
Finding assets to pay for a judgment
Sometimes winning your lawsuit is easy. The difficulty arises when you try to collect on the judgment. Suddenly, the defendant has no money and cannot afford to pay you the money you have been awarded. We can track down any hidden assets that the defendant has. Once we have identified these assets, you can have your attorney file legal motions to take possession or have them liquidated to pay you the money that has been awarded to you.
You suspect hidden assets after your divorce is finalized
You thought your spouse had more assets that he or she claims to have, and you did not get the money you thought you would after the divorce. You may have heard friends or relatives talk about property, stocks or bonds that were sold before or during your divorce. Any of these could be assets that you did not even know existed. If you suspect that there are hidden assets that were never a part of your divorce settlement, we can still do a thorough search for anything that was hidden from you. If it turns out that your spouse did in fact hide assets from you and the court, you can give this information to your attorney and proceed with a legal motion.
We have the ability to perform a thorough search for assets, and because we are private investigators, we have skills and techniques that go beyond basic searches done over the Internet. Our investigation is, of course, all done legally, but we do it with a strong dose of creativity. We can locate assets that people assume are safely hidden. If it belongs to you, we will help you find that hidden asset.
Bruce Robertson
Latest posts by Bruce Robertson (see all)
- Accelerate Employee & Witness Outreach - Oct 30, 2023
- Overcome Employee Research Obstacles in Labor & Employment Cases - Oct 25, 2023
- Advice on Conducting Defendant Research in California Litigation - Oct 11, 2023