Finding Assets with a Magnifying Glass

Legal fees can add up quickly, so if the reason you are filing a lawsuit is for monetary compensation or to collect on a debt, you should do an asset search. Assuming you get a judgment in your favor, without any assets to pay for the judgment, you are simply wasting time and money in the legal process. An asset search done by a private investigation firm, such as ours, can find most of an individual’s assets, including much of the assets that are being hidden. Our firm’s asset search can help you in many ways. The following are three of them.

Business Assets

When a person’s assets are tied to their business, identifying and searching their assets can be complex. You may assume that the person you want to sue has a business that is worth a great deal of money, but there can be large liabilities tied to the business, making the net worth of the company very small. Another issue is partnerships. The business may not be owned by a single person. There may be one or more partners involved. Identifying an asset, such as this, takes investigation. However, we can gather all of the information available to give you a good idea of how much wealth an individual actually has that relates to their business.

Understanding the Nature of the Assets

It is one thing to know that a certain asset exists, but it is entirely another issue to understand the legal aspects of it. A business, for example, could be a corporation, and you are not likely to sue a corporation for the actions of one of its shareholders. This is true even when the person you want compensation from is the majority shareholder. Another situation is when an apparent asset is contained within a trust fund. This type of asset is generally off limits to those filing lawsuits.

Finding Hidden Assets

There may be assets that can be used to satisfy a legal judgment, but they are being hidden by the owner. There are many ways that people will attempt to hide their wealth, but as professional private investigators with a long history of success, we know all of the methods used. It is unlikely that those hiding assets can do so without our firm finding out where they are. Sometimes they will be under the name of a relative or business partner. Other times they may be using a business name to shield the existence of an asset, but we have ways of detecting these hidden assets. Thankfully, we are experts in asset recovery.

Don’t waste your time with a lawsuit if there is no chance of collecting. The truth is that there are many people who are simply lawsuit proof. They have little, if any, net worth, but looks can be deceiving, and that is where our services can be valuable. If you believe that the individual you desire to sue has assets, we can confirm this, or if you are not sure about the person’s ability to pay compensation, we can do a full investigation into their assets. Contact us and let us know the nature of your lawsuit and what assets you may suspect an individual has, or if you have already won a judgment, we can help you determine if there are assets available so you can collect on your judgment.

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Bruce Robertson

Bruce Robertson is a private investigator and founder of Tristar Investigation, California’s premiere detective agency. Bruce is also a media commentator for the investigation industry, featured in the New York Times, CNN, History Channel, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times and many more. You can find him on Google+ LinkedIn and YouTube.