The main purpose of an asset investigation is to identify the tangible and intangible assets owned by an individual or business. Asset investigations are necessary in a variety of situations, such as when trying to collect on a debt, recovering a judgment, child support, and alimony cases, when purchasing a business and many other situations.
This article will provide an overview of asset investigations. We’ll talk about what qualifies as an asset and who might need to have an investigation done. In addition, we’ll cover the types of companies that perform such work, the costs involved, the legal considerations, and more.
What are Assets?
For the purposes of this article, we’ll treat those items owned by an individual as personal assets and those owned by a business or corporation as business assets. Examples of personal assets include:
+Cash in bank accounts, savings accounts, money markets, Certificates of Deposit (CD) and even offshore accounts
+Personal property such as automobiles, jewelry, art, etc.
+Contents of safety deposit boxes
+Investments (e.g. mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc.)
+Residential and commercial real estate
+Insurance policies with cash value
+Examples of Business Assets include:
+Cash and cash equivalents
+Fixed assets such as buildings, furniture, and office equipment
+Land
+Inventory
+Vehicles, watercraft, aircraft
+Intellectual property
+Patents and trademarks
+In addition to identifying assets, investigators seek to identify additional financial information such as bankruptcies, tax liens, judgments, UCC filings, hidden accounts, etc.
In addition, the investigation seeks to identify fraud and criminal activity such as money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, and embezzlement. A criminal records search may be included as part of the package or a full-blown background check.
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