Techniques for Asset Investigations

If you want to know how to go about doing asset searches, it’s important to understand that there are various techniques you can employ to locate off-grid funds. We are talking about:

• Accessing Public Records. Including property records, business filings, court mentions and any other publicly available information touching the business and financial affairs of the individual being investigated.
• Analyzing Financial Documents. Bank statements, credit reports, tax returns and such things.
• Reviewing Business Filings. Investments, business titles and other deals can provide clues on what someone may have been up to with illegally acquired assets.
• Identifying Liens and Judgments. Court processes touching on the assets of an individual record can be helpful in revealing the assets they could be trying to keep from their spouse. Business partners, creditors etc.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Searching for assets is usually a tough balancing act. On the one hand, you don’t want to leave stones unturned but on the other hand, there are laws, regulations and the suspect's expectations of privacy. Above all, it’s crucial not to tip off the suspect lest they pull a Houdini and disappear their stash.

In any case though, it’s always important to work within the boundaries of the law to avoid giving the suspect armor to torpedo your case in court. Some of the things to keep in mind include:

• Compliance with Privacy Regulations. It’s wrong to access an individual's confidential or protected information, such as bank and personal details without authorization.
• Obtaining Consent for Searches. As mentioned, you’ll need the individual’s consent or court approval to access protected or confidential information.
• Navigating Legal Boundaries. A good investigation sticks within the confines of international laws pertaining to foreign assets, including laws about data access across borders.
• Following due process. We are talking about complying with legal procedures to avoid violating individual’s expectations of privacy.
• Avoiding Fraud. Using illegal hacking or deceptive practices to obtain information is just unacceptable.
• Non-discrimination. Leaning on the individual’s gender, race, or other protected categories to obtain information is also unacceptable.

Challenges in Asset Investigations

If you are thinking about doing an asset search, for example, in a fraud or inheritance case, it’s important to understand that there may be some hurdles on your path. Some common challenges that may derail your investigations include:

• Missing Paper Trails. Stashes can be difficult to blow wide open, especially if the individual is one of those who doesn’t let on. It may require extensive poking around but then there’s the legal hurdles, money, time, and experience requirement of it all.
• Legal Hurdles. Any reliable investigation needs to stick to due process to avoid violating existing regulations and individuals’ expectations of privacy.

Choosing the Right Services.

Asset investigation is a complex issue requiring a trustworthy and experienced investigator. A rogue agent could do damage to your investigations. It’s important to take your time and find someone you can trust to deliver results without breaking the law. There’s a lot to look at in order to get the right agent on the job, including:

• Their track record in asset searches.
• Their experience with the specific type of asset search you need - divorce, fraud investigation, litigation, or unearthing hidden assets in a bankruptcy.
• Their reputation, licensing, and credentials.
• How tech savvy they are and what resources they have access to.
• Their geographic reach.
• How discrete are they with sensitive information.
• Their cost and fee structure.

Advantages of Professional Investigation Services

An asset search is not a job for the faint hearted. It’s in our experience that people who choose to swipe assets are usually not careless so the hope of unearthing their stash on your own is not great. However, working with an experienced PI is usually advantageous. We are talking:

• Delivering Accurate Financial Profiles. Professional Investigation Services know techniques people use to hide assets and they have the resources and experience to go about uncovering them usually without breaking the law.
• Enhancing Case Strategy Adjustments. The information unearthed by PIs can help you strategize your case and advocate for your client better.
• Enforcement and Asset Recovery. By helping to recover hidden assets, Professional Investigation Services help enforce judgments.

Conclusion

To summarize, we would all love to live in a world where we can trust each other, but that’s not the case in our reality. If you are involved in a divorce business dispute, fraud investigation or debt collection, the other party might be concealing assets to keep your client from getting what’s rightfully theirs.

Authorizing an asset search is a sure way to protect your client's rights and fight for what they deserve.

However, it’s not just in these cases; we can also offer asset search services during inventorying estates in probate and other distribution and settlement situations so heirs won’t end up with meager inheritances because some of the decedent’s assets are not brought in, and tallied.

FAQs

Martin Investigative Services

Martin Investigative Services office is located at 620 Newport Center Dr Suite 1100, Newport Beach, CA 92660 

Open: 24/7

Phone: (800) 577-1080