Individuals’ reasons for conducting an asset search cover a broad spectrum, from curiosity about the existence of a secret bank account to the recovery of long-lost family heirlooms. Private investigation firms provide this kind of service frequently to their paying customers. To explain why an individual would like to proceed with this, this article focuses on the following motivations, use cases, and beneficiaries of hidden asset services.

The process of asset discovery is straightforward, but there are details worth knowing for optimal results.

Some typical cases where it would be necessary to uncover hidden assets are the following:

While there are a variety of situations in which an asset search is necessary, the most prevalent ones are as follows:

Business

Let’s say you have reason to believe your business associate is engaging in dishonest or unethical practices, such as fraud, theft, improperly helping a competitor, or running a parallel enterprise. Some private detectives can do a thorough search and inquiry to uncover all of the subject’s hidden assets.

Legal Matters Regarding Your Estate or Trust

It is relatively uncommon for beneficiaries to suspect that the Executors have abused their power and stolen from the estate. To determine the scope of the loss and locate any hidden assets of the executor or any other parties involved with the estate or trust, our team of qualified private detectives can conduct surveillance, background searches, bank records searches, and more.

Divorce

Divorcing parties frequently resort to asset concealment to avoid having to make equitable financial settlements. If you have any reason to believe something fishy is going on, you must act fast to find out what’s happening before your money and assets vanish forever.

Child Support

Child Support Low incomes, business loss, high healthcare costs, business failure, and other similar justifications are often used. Private investigators will use overt and covert methods to find your missing money and valuables and then compile a full report with irrefutable proof for use in court.

Sites Where Money and Property Are Concealed

If the owner is creative enough, they can hide their assets practically anywhere. Some create private corporations or limited liability companies to keep their valuables safe. Some people use offshore accounts to hide their wealth from authorities. It is possible to conceal wealth by any means necessary, even if it means paying off creditors in full.

In other cases, a person may try to turn it into something else and spend a significant amount of money doing so. It could be the situation when investing in high-priced real estate, cars, boats, planes, RVs, jewelry, art, and other luxuries. When making these investments, the owner may use cash to acquire a high-priced asset and then lie about its true worth on various official documents. Assets in retirement accounts, equities, bonds, life insurance policies, annuities, and safe deposit boxes are less spectacular assets that individuals may have.

Assets that have yet to be received might sometimes be considered “hidden. Stock options, delayed bonuses, or salary increases are all examples. To avoid dividing these assets with the other party in a divorce, one spouse may try to hold on to them until you finalize the divorce. For the same reason, they might put off signing a new company deal. People may underreport their income when they have child support or creditor commitments since they may be tempted to keep the extra cash they make from a company or self-employment.

Third parties may be involved in some hidden assets, consciously or unknowingly. Parents may use custodial accounts and other methods to conceal assets from prying eyes. There are even cases where one partner will pretend to owe money to another, only to pay it off and then want it back. A company can legally pay a spouse or creditor in the guise of a made-up person. A person can conceal possessions in a safe deposit box, with a friend, or in a relative’s home. For the other person, the cheating partner may be purchasing an apartment, high-end clothing, expensive jewelry, or even hard cash.

Tracking Down Resources

You can find hidden assets with the help of a private investigation agency. To make sure the court is informed of any alleged misbehavior involving concealed assets, they may also write a report and testify in court.

Background Checks

A private investigator can learn more about a subject with a background check. A person’s suitability for a job can be verified by a background check in various circumstances. Background checks, however, can also tell you a lot about a business or nonprofit. A significant firm’s CEO can employ a private detective’s services to check a competitor’s legitimacy before committing to an acquisition. The CEO can learn more about the competitor’s finances and other relevant information through this investigation. The background check will also identify any fraud, concealed assets, or additional information that could derail the business transaction.

Surveillance

Surveillance is a standard tool when a private investigator has to gather evidence of concealed assets. For instance, someone going through a divorce might have stashed valuable artwork in a storage unit. A private detective will follow the target around and observe their every move. The private eye keeps the target before they go to the storage facility, where the hidden artwork is discovered. The private detective will document their investigation and provide the details to the client’s legal team. Consequently, the attorney or client can utilize the material in court, provided it was obtained lawfully.

In its broadest sense, surveillance is an investigative method that involves keeping tabs on a person (or individuals) as they carry out their regular activities. The subject’s ignorance of the surveillance’s presence is crucial to any inquiry, including such tactics. Why? Because once you tell them, they’ll quickly alter their ways. As a result, the person possessing the hidden artwork wouldn’t access the locker if they had any reason to believe that someone else was present. They would likely change their strategy to reduce the likelihood of being discovered. Nonetheless, surveillance in an assets search lawsuit might yield substantial evidence in favor of the plaintiff.

Public Records

By “public records,” we mean any documents kept by governments. In most cases, the state or federal government is tasked with creating public records; however, anyone can do it if they choose. Some documents that are available to the public are:

• Paperwork for Immigrants
• Public records about real estate
• Crime statistics
• Death certificates
• Official documents

Remember that anyone can conduct a public records search because this data is freely accessible. However, a private investigator’s expertise is required to properly investigate a target and uncover relevant details about that person, business, or organization. This process is also slow. What a private detective can locate in a matter of hours or days, someone without investigative training would spend weeks or months trying to find. Because of this, many legal professionals employ private investigators. A private detective can aid a case by efficiently and rapidly locating relevant public records.

A private eye could examine bank information, mobile devices, electronic messages, and more. They need to check every possible corner of a case when looking for assets. They must exhaust every possible resource, as overlooking any evidence could have severe consequences for the inquiry.

By carefully examining their bank statements, you can also find clues that your partner is hiding money. Keep an eye out for digital or wire transfers to foreign accounts. Credit card statements are another excellent way to trace the origin of a payment. You should look into the second account if the bills need to be paid from a shared checking account.

Take away

Your hidden assets case investigator will deliver a written report for your perusal. Both the client and the investigator check the final report for correctness. The PI will address the customer’s concerns and answer any inquiries.

It’s highly recommendable to engage a private investigator. The stereotypical image of a private investigator is someone who secretly watches their targets. On the other hand, personal investigators are highly skilled experts who may often aid your lawyer in uncovering any assets your spouse has hidden from you.

Skilled investigators can locate loans, and offshore bank accounts, contact others who might have more data and find out if your spouse has purchased any property for himself or someone else without your knowledge.

For experts, you should contact 1-800-577-1080; all their private detectives are former federal agents. Former members of the DEA, FBI, Secret Service and IRS agents make up a network of private investigators. They can get the client’s designated agent to court if necessary. All conversations between a client and their investigators will be held in the strictest confidence.