Your client has been in a car crash. She has serious back and neck injuries which may keep her out of work indefinitely. She has limited insurance coverage and is worried that she is going to run out of money to treat her injuries and keep up with her expenses. The driver was in the wrong and had run through a stop light before they hit her car. She wants to sue the driver for injuries incurred because of the accident. If insurance is insufficient, as their attorney, it would be prudent to satisfy your “due diligence” to see what other assets may be available to reach and apply. You client may be due more because of their pain and suffering and you need to make your client as whole as possible to protect your client’s interest prior to any potential recovery or settlement. 

A nationwide asset search on an individual usually costs around $185 to per subject. If the client is unwilling to pay for the search, then the attorney is covered, and your due diligence is satisfied. Since there is usually a contingent fee agreement, the more the client can recover, the more the attorney can be paid for their services and hard work. So, it makes sense to conduct a search as part of your routine practice.

Most asset searches provide not only a subject’s assets but also include the liabilities of your subject. You and your client can discover, at the outset of the case, whether it would be cost effective to bring or continue with a lawsuit against the defendant after the policy limits are offered. These liabilities include, but are not limited to, state and federal tax liens, bankruptcies, uniform commercial code liens, judgments, and other lawsuits. Even if your subject has assets, their liabilities may far exceed their assets. So, it pays to look before you leap.

Aside from locating a person’s real estate, deed transfers, automobiles, planes, watercraft, patents, trademarks, and professional licenses and so forth, a thorough asset search will also provide what entities are associated with your subject that could also be holding assets. Entities such as trusts, limited partnerships, and corporations. More important, if title to the assets is held jointly with another party, their identity will be revealed as well.

Asset searches today can provide a wealth of information on a subject in addition to their assets and liabilities. They can provide information on whether your subject is in the armed services; who they are employed with; whether they are a director or officer of a publicly traded company; civil or criminal records; driving records; family members and neighbors and the geo-economic surroundings of the subject. 

By CYA with an asset search you have also added value to your client’s case, 

For more information on conducting an asset search please call us at 1(800)290-1012 ext. 111 or visit our site at www.assetsearchesplus.com. You can also download our free eBook on conducting an asset search by clicking https://www.assetsearchesplus.com/download-our-free-ebook/