WHY CONDUCT AN ASSET SEARCH?
Before You Start - Investigate
Before you set out on your search, you need to know how to go about
locating assets through public records. First, you'll need the subject's
name and address. In some counties, just the individual's name is enough
to proceed. You need to find out if the person in question is truly “who”
and "what" she or he claims to be. What does the person own? The best way to get answers
to pertinent questions like these is to gather intelligence.
Find out where your subject lives and works. A pretext telephone call will often
work. Deadbeats were once able to hide from the courts, but that's changed. Hard-to-find
people who don't want to pay have become better and better at not leaving a paper trail. If they're
good at hiding assets, they'll put everything in their sister's name or their mother's name, or in the name of somebody they think they can
trust, making ownership very difficult to prove. An assets search should include a county civil search if deed transfers are suspected.
New Business Venture
If you are considering investing in a new venture, or are considering
taking on an investor, or considering a merger, consider conducting a
thorough background and assets search.
Divorce
Before filing for divorce, and to ensure an equitable settlement, learn
exactly what property and possessions are owned by which parties.
Child Support
Most state child support enforcement agencies do not have the resources
to track down parents who evade their support obligations. An assets
search can aid in collecting child support owed to you. You can then
turn discovered information over to the child support enforcement agency,
which will collect the money for you. Wages are considered assets and can be garnished. How to Investigate connects you
to every state agency
responsible for collecting child support.
Judgment Battle
You've won a judgment, and naturally, you want to collect the
court-ordered sum. This is just the beginning of the collection process.
The losing party rarely writes a check at the courthouse. The judicial
system can only enforce a judgment and is not much help in collecting
it. The judgment is good initially for ten years, and can be revived so
that it endures indefinitely. This can be done through post-judgment
questions directed to the debtor, or interviews of the debtor
conducted under oath.
Before You Sue
Conduct an assets search before suing to ascertain what assets and
income your subject has, and to make sure the assets will be available
should you win a judgment. Do this assets search before taking
possession of an asset - such as an automobile or a boat - with a lien
against it, as you may be liable for the lien. If the person doesn't
have anything, why waste your time and money in court? If you're not
going to collect, why bother to go through the hassle of a court
conflict to get a judgment? Plus, you could lose on a technicality! Find
out what you can attach and make stick, uncontested, once you have
obtained the judgment.
WHAT ARE ASSETS?
Everything you own is an asset. Stocks, bonds, houses, boats, money in banks,
that new car with no lien on it. Your bedroom set, your living room furniture - all are assets. Personal assets
are either "personal property" or "real property." Real property assets
include houses, condo's, lots, apartment buildings, or other commercial
properties.
Tangible Personal Property
These are things like vehicles, equipment, inventory, phone systems,
computers, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, paid-up insurance policies -
items of value a person buys or comes into possession of by one means or
another. Except for personal property that must be licensed, like
vehicles and boats and airplanes, "ownership" of an item is usually
determined by "possession." Proof of ownership may be a sales receipt,
a canceled check or a bill of sale. Most everyone agrees: possession,
especially long-term possession, is nine-tenths of the law.
Intangible Personal Property
Items such as patents, royalty agreements, promissory notes, contracts,
accounts receivable, wages, or other income are considered Intangible
Personal Property.Real Property
Locate real estate and you may have something to attach. If your
subject, the owner, has a homestead exemption on the house, you're not
going to be able to touch it. However, if he owns the lot next door,
or if he owns an apartment building, you can lay claim to those.
LOCATING ASSETS
Asset location has long been a valued resource for lenders,
creditors, investors, and government entities. The largest creditor in
the United States is the Internal Revenue Service. IRS auditors, field
agents and CID agents locate assets to satisfy levies, liens, tax fraud
and tax evasion matters. So does the Federal Depository Insurance
Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, the Small Business
Administration, student loan authorities, bankruptcy trustees, and
various states' departments of revenue.
Seasoned, professional skip-tracers start their investigation by
compiling data about the subject's identity, relatives, employment,
etc., while profiling the subject's financial status and
character. This initial searching may also turn up loan or mortgage
data.
National Death Index
First, check the death records to determine when he or she died and details of the death. If an estate was filed, it was likely filed where the
individual passed away. Go to the county court house. Determine whether an estate was filed. If there is a will, it will be on file if the
person requested his or her will be filed at the courthouse.
Income/Wages
Learn about a person's income - another asset. Wages can be attached
or garnished. Whether filing for divorce, to collect on a judgment or
collecting child support, first learn exactly what property and
possessions are owned. Judgments are not just a debt, they are a court
order to pay and they carry all the powers of the court order, but a
judgment is just a piece of paper until money is collected. The court
will not collect the money for you.
Employer
If you need to know the place of employment, do what the pros do:
Get up early in the morning, park down the street from where the
subject resides and follow the subject to work. Note: Don't do
this if the subject knows you or your vehicle. Get an unknown
friend with an unknown vehicle to get details.
To verify employment, one might say to the subject's
employer, "He's buying a car from me. I want to verify employment and
the amount of money he makes." Or, "Does she get paid weekly or
biweekly?" (You need to know when the paychecks are issued if you intend
to garnish wages.) “Does she stand a chance for any bonuses?" Or, "How
long has she been on the job?" Employers love to talk, especially if
they think they are talking to a peer – another employer. Try: "Is
advancement likely?" Or, "Is she going to be promoted?"
Unearned Income
Income is not only what a person earns; there's unearned income, too,
which is not earned through a paycheck but from rental incomes, dividends, and
interest from stock ownership.
Subpoena Business Records
If you have to go the subpoena route, and the subject’s employer
is known, serve a Business Record Subpoena, and obtain a copy of payroll
checks the subject has cashed. The subject’s account number and name of
the bank will be on the back of the check.
CHECK PUBLIC RECORDS
Records of millions of filings, real property transactions, and new
business ventures are available for your inspection at city and county
courthouses and at repositories in state capitals. This is public
information; the records are open to everyone. You need to know how to
get what you need and where to get what you need. Herein lies the
challenge.
Local Level Search - It's almost always best to start your search at the
local level: the city or county where the filing took place. These
records will most often provide valuable search data: real property
records, corporation records, UCC filings, court records, motor vehicle
information, divorce proceedings records, community property settlement
records, and probate records. With these records you may discover a wealth of financial
information: names and account numbers of bonds and checking and
savings accounts; brokers; stock ownership; and credit card account data.
Often you can discover addresses of and descriptions of real property and license number, make, and
model of vehicles.
Jurisdictions
Forty-three-hundred US public jurisdictions store records of
interest to people attempting to locate assets. Most of these
jurisdictions are counties. Each jurisdiction has its own set of rules.
Begin your search by delving into these records sources:
- Real Property Records - Assessors Office - County Court House
- Court Records - Bankruptcy, Liens and Judgments - County Court House
- Business Licensing - County Court House
- Corporation Records - Secretary of State's Office
- UCC filings - Secretary of State's Office
- Motor vehicle information - State DMV
- Divorce proceedings records - State Vital Statistics
- Probate records - State Probate Records
Links to:
Courts and
State Records
Or, submit an
Asset Search
using our connection to a world network of databases.
Real Estate
Real property is the most valuable and best-documented of all
assets. Records are kept at the county recorder's office or the
registrar of deeds office. Real property recordings are indexed by
owner's name and usually crossed-indexed by property address.
Documentation includes property jurisdictions, location, deeds of trust,
liens, property address, owners, sellers, attorneys, mortgage lender,
and title company.
The true value of the property is rarely determined by doc stamps,
tax assessment, or listed mortgage. If a
person owns real estate - more than just his or her primary domicile -
check county records to see if quit claim deeds have been filed.
Perhaps the property was signed over to another person.
County records contain complete details of property transfers. Relatives
and in-laws usually are the beneficiaries. Ascertain the wife's
maiden name, if possible, before starting records searches.
County Assessor
Call the county assessor's office to learn the assessed value of a
property. Remember, the assessed value is only one indication of a
property's actual worth.
Motor Vehicle Information
Most states' Department of Motor Vehicles will provide vehicle ownership
information for a fee. Check by the subject's name and by the
name of any companies connected with the subject.
Water Vessel Registrations
Boats can be attached by the court, providing you can establish
ownership, proven by title, which is public record. The Natural
Resources department or division in each state will have information on
boats and water vessels owned by individuals and companies.
Aircraft
The FAA will have information on an individual or a company that owns
aircraft.
Business Connections:
Corporations, Partnerships, LLCs
Under most state laws, people can have certain property that
is exempt from being seized for debts; however, corporations have no
such exempt property. If a business incorporates, a record of that
corporation's birth is on file with a state agency, usually the
Secretary of State's office in the corporation's home state.
Certain states will furnish information about directors, officers, and
the principals of a corporation, but most limit the information to what
has been furnished by the people who formed the corporation.
Note:
1. Many states' Secretary of State's corporation division do not
require or verify identification of applicants for new corporations.
2. The law says each person is limited to one SSN. Discovery of
multiple SSN's is fairly common in asset searches, especially among the
well-to-do.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Filings
The Uniform Commercial Code is a notification system. The law requires
the filing of a financing statement containing certain
information whenever a financial transaction takes place that involves
personal property used for collateral for a loan or lease. You will find
much useful information contained in UCC filings, all of which should be
considered from several perspectives for clues and leads to further
information.
Each year, more than eight million Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings are
completed. Four million parcels of real property change hands or are put
up for collateral. Millions of pieces of commercial real estate are
swapped or sold. More than a half million new corporations start up.
Begin your search in the county where the subject resides. UCC filing
records are indexed by the name of the debtor. Both the debtor and the
secured parties are listed in UCC filings. Useful information can be
gathered and made a part of your intelligence base. An accurate
description of the collateral being put up as security for the loan or
lease must be furnished.
Names of other debtors, as well as individuals or businesses that may
have guaranteed the debt, may be listed in UCC filings. Banks, leasing
companies, and other individuals who backed the enterprise are excellent
sources of information. When queried, these debtors or companies might
divulge valuable information. Their involvement with the subject may
suggest other arrangements or other assets: a pattern of business activity. Stockholders involved in the
venture will be specified. Partners or family members and friends who
backed the deal may be mentioned. A spouse or ex-spouse may be listed.
The debtor likely maintains an account with the bank backing the deal.
UCC filings remain active for five years, unless continued. A UCC filing
may include a copy of the loan application from the
secured party or a copy of the check from the secured party to
the debtor. Bank issues check to debtor. Debtor deposits check into
his/her bank account. Debtor's bank account number is on back of check.
Subpoena the secured party for a copy of this check. Look at the
reverse side of the check. The subject may also deposit payroll checks,
spouse's payroll checks, stock dividend checks, rental income checks, etc. . . .
An ignorant debtor
might withdraw funds to close an account in the form of a check, then
deposit that check in a new account, often in the same bank. A check
provides a document trail and often includes the name and account number of the bank where
the debtor deposited the check. Subpoena the target
bank for loan applications and/or financial statements of the
subject for any checks the bank issued to the subject.
Information Providers have access to an endless array of important
databases. See: Conduct an Assets Search.
LOCATING BANK ACCOUNTS
The easiest asset to attach is a bank account. Does the person who owes
you money have an account at a particular
bank? There is no central database that maintains bank account records
for everybody in the country. Locating bank account information was the
most controversial area in the asset search industry before 1999, when
new banking regulations were signed into law. Before then, various
techniques were employed to uncover bank account information, including
obtaining credit reports, forming collection networks, and using information subpoenas
and pretext calls. With the new law, pretexts may not be employed to
obtain banking or financial account information. Consequently, it has
become increasingly difficult to obtain information about a bank
customer. If accounts are located, the court will enforce the provisions
of your judgment. Bank accounts with a matching SSN or Federal Tax ID
Number (FEIN) can be frozen. (When opening an account, the bank
will require your SSN or FEIN. If it is an interest-bearing
account the bank will forward a tax form to the IRS.)
Many Americans have more than one bank account, insurance policy,
brokerage account, and safety deposit box. An individual's tax return
can be a good source of information about bank accounts, limited
partnerships, and investments paying dividends or interest. You can get
the information you need with a subpoena. Without a subpoena. you may
learn nothing. Ask for all the records: bank applications, mortgage
details, etc.
HIDING ASSETS
Begin your search for hidden assets with a basic background check to
ascertain if any aliases or multiple social security numbers are being
reported to the consumer bureaus. Identify relatives and business
associations. In a much-publicized case involving three individuals,
their wives and a multi-million-dollar defaulted loan, many bank
accounts were discovered, including several with names and SSN's not
belonging to any of the subjects.
Hidden assets are mainly of the liquid variety: bank accounts, stocks
and bonds, and mutual funds. A hidden asset is one asset that is moved
or transferred intentionally to defraud, hinder, or delay a
creditor. Less frequently, the subject will attempt to move assets
out of the reach of creditors or litigants. Hidden Assets are mainly
transferred to a spouse, friend or a business entity.
Hidden assets can also include real property and vehicles. When facing a lawsuit and
judgment, people often attempt to hide expensive toys and bank accounts by
transferring ownership and title to property to someone else.
The most common hiding places for assets are under aliases, with
relatives, friends, and partners, and in home mortgages,
universal life insurance, savings bonds, annuities, travelers checks,
cashiers checks, safety deposit boxes, dissolved corporations,
stockbroker accounts, mortgage and credit card pay-downs, collectibles,
antiques, offshore accounts, foreign accounts, overpayments to the IRS,
sweetheart lawsuits, cars, yachts, aircraft, and jewelry . . .
Hiding Assets Under Someone Else's Name
Most assets, from cash to real property, are moved over to the spouse,
child or other relatives. For most asset search firms, fraudulent conveyance of real
estate is easier to track than cash transactions. Real estate
transactions identifying the buyer or seller can be found using online
services or by searching records at the county assayer's office or the
registries of deeds office. A fraudulent
conveyance of real estate might be picked up as a transaction involving
the subject as seller and the subject's mate as buyer. The date of the
transfer might prove to be suspiciously close to the date of a loan
default, or bankruptcy filing.
Note:
Were assets moved to relatives, to the wife's maiden name, or to
in-laws? Ascertain the mate's maiden name, if not already known. Start
with marital records at the county courthouse where the marriage took place.
A transfer of assets to loved ones, whether outright or in trust,
carries major risks: Wealthy people who give vast sums of money to a
spouse and children may find themselves without assets, without a
spouse, and with unsympathetic children.
Trusts
The most sophisticated asset-hiding schemes involve transfers to living
trusts or offshore trust accounts. Assets that are transferred
deliberately to avoid payment to creditors, litigants or other parties
are generally called "preferential" or "fraudulent" transfers. If these
transfers occur in anticipation of or shortly before or during
litigation or bankruptcy, they are reversible in most states.
People who hold substantial assets and are exposed to litigation and
creditor risks may attempt to protect their wealth by making generous
gifts to a trust like the Multi-Generation Trust (MGT). MGT grantors
assign spouses and children as beneficiaries.
Hiding Real Estate in Real Estate Trusts
The majority of real estate trusts are created for legitimate reasons.
However, as with hiding cash, some individuals use these trusts to hide
real estate to conceal assets. They place property in trusts while
acting as trustees of those trusts. Or they place property in
real estate trusts with their spouses, children or friends as trustees.
They have a beneficial interest in trusts without acting as trustees.
Real Estate Trust Records
These trusts are not a good
method of hiding real estate in some states. Records of deeds,
mortgages, declarations of trust and other real estate documents are
maintained at registries of deeds in towns or counties throughout the
USA. Records are cross-referenced from the real estate trust names to
the names of the individual trustees in more than half of these
registries. A check of the records at most registries of deeds will
generally reveal property owned by a subject as trustee just as such a
search would reveal property owned by the subject individually (or
jointly with a wife, partner, etc.). The same is true of real estate
ownership records at town assessors' offices as most assessors' offices
cross-reference information.
Another method of concealing assets in real estate trusts involves
"trust" on the part of the individual concealing the assets. An
individual can finance the purchase of property by a real estate trust
with a spouse, child or friend as trustee. The individual would then
have to trust the other party or parties to funnel money back in his or
her direction. Since the individual would not be a trustee in the trust,
the trust and trust property would not be cross-referenced to his or her
name at the registry of deeds. Proving that the assets belong to
the individual would be difficult at best.
In some states, real estate trusts offer a very
effective method for hiding assets. One may hold an interest in a trust
but not be a trustee. The trust can be set up so that one individual
holds 100 percent of the interest in the trust. If the individual is not
a trustee, the trust and trust property will not be cross-referenced to
that individual's name. Rarely will a registry of deeds cross-reference
beneficial interests to individual names. In many states, trusts are not
required to reveal the names of individuals holding beneficial
interests. The trust documents may be recorded in the registry of deeds
with no list of beneficial interests. In this way, tying individuals to
property can become very difficult.
Hiding Under a Corporate Umbrella
Limited partnerships offer essentially the same opportunities for
concealing real estate assets as real estate trusts. Also, as with
trusts, many registries of deeds cross-reference information to
individual partners' names when those partners sign the real estate
documents.
The agent is the person listed to receive service and may be an attorney who has no connection with
the owners of the corporation. You'll be told the dates of incorporation
and the dates of any amendments, such as name changes. Some states list the address of the
registered agent. Any information you are able to acquire from
corporation applications and associated records may be useful.
Discussions with business partners and corporate associates may shed
light on the bigger picture. Write or call the corporate headquarters to
request an annual report or financial statement. You might ask that your
name be added to the mailing list of those who are to receive corporate
reports.
Hiding Personal Property
Frequently, asset searches discover personal property of significant
value. One has several options if hiding personal property like
automobiles, boats, aircraft, jewelry or art. While state and federal
agencies keep records of auto, boat and aircraft registrations, the
amount of information contained in those records varies significantly.
State records may enable asset search firms to identify the make, model
and year of autos, boats and other vehicles in a subject's name. Records
are limited to property presently registered to a subject. Records of
transactions - changes in ownership involving autos, boats or aircraft
- are not generally available. Tracking and proving fraudulent
conveyance of personal property is much more difficult than
locating real estate.
Hiding Assets in Exempt Plans
People with litigation risk sometimes invest in assets which are exempt
from creditors' claims. Plans that qualify include pension, profit
sharing, 401(k) and Keogh plans.
Hiding Assets as Gifts
Investments in exempt assets, giving gifts and fraudulent conveyances
are commonly used as a means to hide assets.
LEGAL TOOLS
Writ of Execution
This a common judicial order directing the
enforcement of a judgment. The writ instructs the sheriff or constable
to seize the Debtor's non-exempt property, sell the
property at auction, and deliver the proceeds to you.
Turnover Order
Orders Debtor to turn all non-exempt property over to the judgment
holder. This remedy allows a judgment holder to spread a wide net to
catch all available assets when the Debtor's property cannot readily be
attached or seized by the ordinary legal process. This remedy is usually
used when no other means to satisfy the judgment are available, but it
does not require that a judgment holder exercise all other post-judgment
remedies before seeking the order.
Blanket Levy
This technique involves serving a Writ of Execution and a Bank Levy on
every bank in the area. This procedure assumes that Debtor banks within
a few miles' radius of home or work.
Debtor’s Examination
At this proceeding you can demand that the debtor tell you where his
or her bank account is. The unfortunate effect of this procedure is
that the Debtor will take money out of the account before
you can get to it. If you locate a bank account with even a few dollars
in it - or one that has been closed - get microfilmed or database
records, which the bank retains.
State Sales Tax Permits
Clue: An application for Sales Tax permit requires you to list your bank
account.
ASSET SEARCH SERVICES
Database Information Providers
Online database Information Providers have experience with the
intricacies of accessing public records and can conduct all or part of
your asset search, saving you the time and trouble of a paper document
search. Ask about areas of coverage, techniques, fees, and methods of
payment. Investigative Professionals offers
Assets Searches on Individuals and
Business Assets.
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Investigative Professionals Background Checks
Our expert researchers tap connections to a far-reaching network of massive databases
containing more than four billion records to run background checks
and criminal records reports. Experienced database search
specialists will immediately go to work for you, to quickly return
real, meaningful results. Search results are regularly returned within hours.
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