What are Hidden Assets?

An asset is anything that has value or can be a source of value, whether tangible items or otherwise, and can be converted into cash. It can be real estate property, vehicles, stocks, bonds, life insurance policy, business equity, etcetera.

Hidden assets simply are these items, but withheld or kept in secret from public knowledge. It’s not so much the fact that they are hidden that is contentious, as it is about the reason why they’re being kept hidden in the first place. 

There are plenty of reasons why assets would be hidden by an individual or a business entity. Here are some of them below: 

Divorce and Child Support

Divorce proceedings can get messy, to say the least. When one or both parties refuse to negotiate, it’s going to be an all-out war for the division of assets. It’s possible that one of the parties would want to prevent their spouse from having access to what they deem to be personal assets, and so could go to great lengths to keep it hidden. 

This is so that it won’t be included in the list of properties and assets to be divided amongst the couple. Apart from that, it also could be a way to downplay their net worth so it would appear to the court that they only have so much, when in fact they have a lot more. 

This could impact not just the division of properties, but also the obligation to pay alimony or child support. The court will render judgment on how much their obligations would be depending largely on how much they have. Hiding the assets, therefore, is a great way to avoid having to pay more than they are willing to. 

With a skilled and knowledgeable asset investigator CA, however, even the best-kept assets could still be found and brought to light eventually. 

Debt Payment

An individual or business entity may file for bankruptcy, in which case, the debtors are limited in their capacity to secure payment from the debtor. An asset investigation CA can uncover the truth about the bankruptcy, because, in reality, it’s not always necessarily real. 

It’s possible that it’s simply a way to avoid their obligations, that’s why they declared bankruptcy. They could, for example, transfer funds to another organization that have very vague connections to them, and are practically untraceable. It’s also possible that individuals claiming bankruptcy will “repay” a loan from a friend or someone they know, when in fact, the money is simply being hidden for safekeeping. After the investigation, they can simply retrieve this from the friend who kept it from them.

Asset searches California, especially those from reputable agencies, however, are still going to be able to find these connections, no matter how deep, no matter how vague. 

Why Hire a Private Investigator 

If you’re in need of services for a California asset search, then it’s highly recommended that you defer to the expertise of a California private investigator. Given their skills and expertise in the field, they should be able to follow trails of clues, make the connections between persons, companies, and assets, and find the answers you seek.

Conducting an asset search Los Angeles on your own is only going to be exhausting, tedious, and time-consuming. Most importantly, you might not even be able to get the results you want because you wouldn’t know where to begin. 

You need to find the relevant personalities who can provide you with the information you seek, as well as know what kinds of assets you should be on the lookout for–and where you’re likely to find them. You need to establish a feasible and viable scope for your investigation, and so much more. 

A professional agency like Able Legal Investigations can do all of these for you instead. This is the best option you can take considering the situation and your realistic capabilities of handling it.