Asset Searches - How Far is Far Enough?

Volume 1 / Edition 3

Welcome to The Beacon Bulletin, a weekly online newsletter, created exclusively for the trial law community. Each week we select a topic of interest and impart information we hope will be of value to you.

This Week; Focus On: Asset Searches - How Far is Far Enough?

Generally, an asset search investigation is requested to determine a subject's tangible assets. Balancing the public's privacy with informational needs is challenging but ultimately, very doable. A basic checklist for the legal professional is to:

1. Relay the need-to-know reason to your investigative specialist. A business partnership dissolution v. a medical malpractice matter; a very different focus.

2. Obtain as much lead information from your client as possible. The more information the investigative specialist is given, quite often, the more she can return.

3. Local is often more reliable than generalized information. The first step in recording any asset begins at a local level. Many information companies provide "nationwide" information, which can widen the asset search scope. The drawbacks to nationwide information brokering, however, are

a) record update lag (delays up to 18 months),
b) incorrect data collection errors (many nationwide databases can return results only with exact names - misspellings will often register "no hit" status) and c) incomplete information.

Ok, so you have asset information. The subject owns a Chelsea duplex, a home in Hyde Park and a boat docked at the Bayside Marina. The next step, from an investigative standpoint, can range from determining if the subject has any liens, judgments, bankruptcies and other pending litigation to a full criminal background check.

So, in answer to our premise question: Asset Searches: How Far is Far Enough? Assess the potential settlement/judgment and the reasonable likelihood of the subject having assets. For a large settlement/judgment, request a full background asset search (certain convictions can prohibit a person from holding officer position in a business); medium settlement/judgment: basic background asset search and for a small judgment: a basic asset search.

BNI's investigators: Street smart; Net savvy.

I look forward to any comments you may have or questions I can answer for you.

Sincerely,

Lina Marie Maini
Editor, The Beacon Bulletin
CEO, Beacon Network Investigations, Inc.