How To Conduct an Assets Search

by: Joe Hoover

WHY CONDUCT AN ASSETS SEARCH?

There are clearly situations of a business or personal nature in which it is essential to check for assets. Knowledge of such assets can make a big difference in the establishment of grounds for interpersonal actions or the furthering of certain business relationships.

Entering into a New Business Venture - If one is considering investing in a new business, bringing a new investor into an existing company or contemplating a merger between companies, it is essential to conduct a thorough background check on the individual or corporation. Such a check also includes a comprehensive assets search.

Before Entering into a Lawsuit - Conduct an assets search prior to filing suit against an individual or company to determine what assets are present in the event a judgment is ordered by the court. It is not worth the cost of legal fees to file a suit against a person or company that will be unable to pay a court ordered sum. Determine what assets or property could be attached once a judgment is issued.

Collecting on a Judgment - When the court order a sum of money to be paid as part of a civil action, a judgment is issued, this is simply a court order for the payment of funds. It is rare for the defendant to simply pay the amount ordered on the spot. The judicial system only orders payment. Collection is the responsibility of the plaintiff.

Divorce - The finances involved in a divorce can often become rather complicated. It is not uncommon for a spouse to hide assets that would be open to dispute. An asset search of the party being divorced is very important to be certain that all assets are accounted for.

Child Support/Alimony - Public child support enforcement agencies are ill- equipped to locate parents who evade their child support obligations. In child support cases, once the parent is located, information regarding their wages or any hidden assets should be given to the proper child support enforcement agency that can then facilitate collection.

Contestation of a Will - Quite often personal assets may be hidden and not disclosed in a will. Potential beneficiaries or those entitled to a claim against the estate should search for the possibility of hidden assets.

WHAT ARE ASSETS?

Everything that is owned is potentially an asset. Stocks, bonds, real estate, money in the bank, automobiles, RV's, boats, airplanes and even household furnishings are all considered assets. Personal assets are classified as either being personal property or real property.

Tangible Personal Property - Includes vehicles, equipment, inventory, telephone systems, computers, bank accounts, stocks, bonds and paid insurance policies with cash value. Any items of value that a person or a company buys or comes into possession of constitute a tangible asset.

Intangible Personal Property - This category includes patents, royalty agreements, promissory notes, contracts, accounts receivable, wages or other income.

Real Property - All homes, condominiums, apartment or commercial buildings and land are classed as real property. Only a residence that is protected by a homestead exemption is exempt from being attached. All other real estate is subject to claim through the courts.

HOW TO INITIATE AN ASSETS SEARCH

Initial Phase of Investigation - Before attempting to locate assets through public records, it is essential to have the subject's correct name and address. In some local record searches, the name alone will suffice without the need for an address.

It is vital to find out not only where the individual lives, but also their place of employment, if dealing with an individual.

LOCATING ASSETS

Creditors, investors and government entities have the greatest capability in locating assets, especially in cases where an individual or corporation owes monies that are not being repaid.

National Death Index - The Social Security Administration's Death Index should always be checked to see if, when and where a subject may have died.

Income/Wages - A major asset that can be attached or garnished is a person's wages. In collecting on a judgment, child support payments or divorce.

Defendant's Place of Employment - Professional skip-tracers often conduct surveillance on a subject by discretely following the person to his or her place of employment.

Unearned Income - An important source of revenue and includes money that comes from rental property, dividends or interest on stocks or bonds.

Subpoena of Business Records - If it becomes necessary to use the courts to obtain information, a Business Records Subpoena will reveal payroll checks that have been cashed.

HIDDEN ASSETS

People hide assets for a variety of reasons that range from personal to business in nature, but essentially they have property or money that they do not want discovered. Hiding of assets is not always a sign of criminal intent, but just as often it shows a moral or ethical failing in a subject's character: They feel the need to hide all or a portion of their wealth from scrutiny.

CHECKING PUBLIC RECORDS

Public records available in city halls, county courthouses, and at state repositories, contain valuable information that is essentially public information available to all who inquire.

Local Level Searches - Always start a search at the city or county level where most documents regarding real property, corporate data, UCC filings, divorce and community property proceedings as well as probate and motor vehicle information are to be found. Within these records are descriptions of real property; the make, model and license numbers of vehicles.

Search Jurisdictions - More than 4,300 jurisdictions in the United States store records that can be useful when seeking to locate assets. Most of these jurisdictions are at the municipal and county level, and each sets its own rules governing public access. These are the records that prove to be the initial basis for any asset search. Check:

-County Assessors Office - Real property valuation records -County Records Office - Property records and deeds -County Court Records - Bankruptcy, liens, judgments, business licensing -Secretary of State's Office - Corporation records, UCC filings -State Motor Vehicle Division - Motor vehicle information -State Vital Statistics Office - Vital statistics, probate records, divorce proceedings records

SEARCH PARAMETERS

Real Property - Best documented of all assets is real property. Records are kept at the county level at the County Recorder's Office or an office devoted to handling the registration of deeds

Look for quit claim deeds, as these are often filed when a piece of property is transferred to a family member or friend to be hidden.

Market value of real property is not easily determined from tax assessments or mortgage balances. Consult a real estate broker will help to determine the actual value of property in question.

Motor Vehicles - The Department of Motor Vehicles will provide information regarding ownership, normally charging a fee for this data.

Boats - In each state, the natural resources department will have information regarding boats or other water-operated vessels that are owned by individuals or companies.

Aircraft - The registration of aircraft is made through the Federal Aviation Administration. This information is similar in nature to that of motor vehicles.

Corporate Property - Corporations, unlike individuals, have no property exemptions with regard to seizure for payment of debt. Information regarding the corporation's operations and personnel is available from the Secretary of State's office in all states.

THE IMPORTANCE OF UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE (UCC) FILINGS

The law requires that a financial statement be filed whenever transactions take place that involve the use of personal property as collateral for a loan or lease. There is much valuable information in UCC filings .

More than 8 million UCC filings are completed each year. Four million parcels of real property are transferred or are used for collateral. Millions of parcels of commercial real estate are traded or sold each year.

Always begin a search of UCC filings in the county where the subject in question resides. These records are indexed by the name of the debtor, and they also list the names of secured parties with regard to the debt.

Banks, leasing companies or individuals who have financially backed a business enterprise are excellent sources of information

UCC filings remain active for a minimum of five years, but they can be extended. The filing in question may include a copy of a loan application from the secured party or a copy of the loan check made out to the debtor. Payroll checks, stock dividend checks, rental income checks and other sources of personal revenue may turn up.

LOCATING BANK ACCOUNTS

Many people of means have more than one bank account, insurance policies, brokerage accounts or safety deposit boxes. An individual tax return is a good source of information regarding any type of account that pays interest. A subpoena is required to retrieve tax returns.

A bank account is highly liquid and is the easiest asset to attach. Question: Does the person who owes the money have an account at a particular bank? Answer: There is no central database that maintains bank account numbers.

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What Can We Anticipate For Getting Divorce Records On The Web

by: Steven Sea

Currently, world-wide-web has turned your life simpler. This is true particularly with regards to investigating divorce records of a person. Nowadays, public information search providers on the web are very versatile to allow you to search a wide assortment of information. To get a minimal subscription, you'll have the ability to search on categories like Assets Data, Bankruptcy Information, Birth and Business Information, Email Addresses, History Checks, Federal Information, Court and Criminal Data, Death Index, Legal and Civil Judgments, Marriage and Divorce Data and People or Relatives Searches.

And besides assisting you in divorce records, you'll also be able to use these public information search providers on the Internet to perform Reverse Cell phone, Landline Phone and IP Investigations. In addition to this, folks are using these services for Sex Offender Searches and SSN Validation Searches or SSN and Last Name Searches. When you wish to hunt divorce records, you must find an on-line service that has more attention and integrity on data precise and also data coverage. If you do wish to know how precise their data is, you should know that these public document services on the web just collect and compile information from a broad selection of sources.

Namely, most of the service on the Internet will do nothing for producing, checking, or ensuring the accuracy of the data they offer when you conduct background investigations on some individual. Then again, you could not depend on the data which are not updated regularly. Public information will not be at your fingertips if you get registered with any of these on-line search provlders, however, they collect the information from sources which are beyond their control. So you got to affront the fact that many of these providers on the web will sometimes deviate from correctness in terms of recency. Thus, you'd better check again and again with the state administrations or courts to know if or how much the data is precise.

Therefore once more, you do realize that besides some exceptions, most fee-based file search providers on the web are meant for your initial verification on an individual's divorce records. If the search outcomes indicates that the person is divorced, you are able to easily use the clues to check the information. In other words, the on the net search companies are offering you doable clues to carry out further investigation research on someone. This can be an occasion that you may never have again. Thus, making use of report search services means significantly when you're investigating divorce information of some person.

Want to search divorce records by name, please visit divorce recordssearch online.

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The Security Clearance Process - Do I Need A Security Clearance Lawyer?

by: Joseh Testan, Esq.

The Security Clearance Process for Defense Contractor Employees

This article is designed to give individuals an overview of the security clearance process, from beginning to end, which will leave the reader with a clear understanding of what to expect should he or she decide to seek a security clearance. This article only deals with defense contractor employees and collateral security clearances, (i.e., security clearances at the Confidential, Secret and Top Secret levels.)

Who is eligible to apply for a security clearance?

An individual cannot apply for a security clearance on his or her own. He or she must be "sponsored" for the security clearance by their defense contractor employer. They can only be "sponsored" if the work they will perform requires access to classified information.

Only U.S. citizens, native born and naturalized, can be granted a security clearance. In very rare circumstances, a non-U.S. citizen may be issued a Limited Access Authorization for access to classified information. For the average individual not possessing some unique skills, this exception is not available.

The Process

If your employer decides you need access to classified information to perform your job, they submit a request for an investigation through JPAS, an automated system that keeps track of all individuals possessing or seeking a security clearance. Your employer will also ask you to complete a security questionnaire (SF-86). This form is now electronic so in most cases you will have to complete an online version known as an e-QIP. Once you complete the e-QIP and it is sent to the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO), the information you provided on the e-QIP is part of your permanent record. In plain language, you are stuck with your answers to the questions on the e-QIP. It is for this reason you should read each question very carefully and provide truthful answers.

The e-QIP and request for investigation ends up at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), a government agency which conducts most of the background investigations for DoD contractor employees seeking a security clearance. Depending on the level of security clearance you are seeking, and other variables, the investigation may include an OPM investigator interviewing you.

When the investigation is complete, OPM sends your investigative file to DISCO. In the vast majority of cases, DISCO grants the security clearance request, and notifies your employer of its decision. If DISCO is unable to make the affirmative finding that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant you a security clearance, they refer your case to the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA). Once at DOHA, your file is further reviewed. DOHA may send you interrogatories (i.e., written questions) seeking further information. In some cases, DOHA will grant your security clearance request with no further action. However, if DOHA decides it too cannot make the affirmative finding that granting your security clearance request is clearly consistent with the national interest, they will issue you a Statement of Reasons (SOR) detailing their concerns.

In order to continue the processing of your security clearance request, and have your case assigned to a DOHA Administrative Judge to make the final decision, you must file a notarized answer to the SOR within the time limit specified by DOHA. The answer must admit or deny each allegation in the SOR. As part of your answer, you will tell DOHA whether you want the Administrative Judge to decide your case based on a written record or whether you want a Hearing. If you choose to have your case decided on a written record, the Administrative Judge will decide your case based on written submissions by you and the DoD attorney, known as a Department Counsel (DC). If you request a Hearing, the Administrative Judge will send you a Notice of Hearing (specifying the date, time, and location of the Hearing) at least 15 days before the Hearing date. At the Hearing, the DC will present the government's evidence supporting the allegations in the SOR, and you will have the opportunity to testify, present written evidence that supports your case, elicit testimony from witnesses you decide to bring to the Hearing, and to give a closing statement where you try to persuade the Administrative Judge that you should be granted a security clearance.

After the Administrative Judge issues his or her decision, either side can appeal the decision to the DOHA Appeal Board. The Appeal Board cannot accept any new evidence; it only reviews the evidence that was offered at the DOHA Hearing. It is therefore essential that all the evidence you want to be considered by DOHA be offered before or at the hearing. The Appeal Board reviews the Administrative Judge's decision for legal error only. The end result of this is that it is very difficult to get the Appeal Board to overturn an Administrative Judge's decision not to grant a security clearance request.

If the Administrative Judge decides you should not be granted a security clearance and you don't appeal the decision, you must wait one year from the date of the Administrative Judge's decision to reapply for a security clearance. If your employer initiates the process for you, DOHA will send you a letter asking you, in essence, what has changed since the Administrative Judge's decision that would lead DOHA to conclude a different result might be reached this time. If you can convince DOHA to reopen the case, the process starts all over again.

Mr. Testan is a retired DOHA Administrative Judge with 25 years experience in the security clearance field. His firm, the Law Offices of Joseph Testan, limits its practice to security clearance matters. He can be reached at www.securityclearancelawyer.info

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Are Eloans A Better Alternative

by: Joseph Kenny

Eloans are the same as those applied for at local and commercial bank chains with some interesting differences. These are loans which are applied for through the web pages of the internet. Eloans are actually easiest for the loan agency whether it is an investment group, bank, credit card company, insurance company or even an HMO rather than the customer. Credit checks are perhaps quicker, as well as background investigations and loan equity verifications for the agency to perform.

The time needed for an Eloan application to be approved can be measured in minutes if not seconds. A longer time may be required if there is a large Eloan requiring the securing of personal property or real estate to act as collateral. Before such business is transacted you should perform your own investigation into whom you are doing business. Herein lies the homework since the internet is not a totally truthful place to find out information concerning an investment firm.

The library has bound references dealing with the objective and subjective evaluation of both private and public investment firms. A few of these are "Standard and Poor's" and "Barron's". You can also research these reporting sites on the internet as well. You need to check on the stability of the firm and the profits gained from the past eight financial quarters or even longer. Other means of research can be obtained by visiting the web site of the many local banks in your hometown. They offer eloans and other services through the internet. Shop around these and others to get the best deals in interest rates.

Now I mentioned that these were easier for the lending institution than you the customer. The reason being is that they are closely tied to the credit card companies and credit reporting agencies. Having worked in the bowels of the loan sharks I know that there are only four major credit reporting agencies. These have had the past eleven years to convert their databases to merge and work flawlessly through the internet. There is a startling fact well hidden by those of us who have been geeks, there are several supreme echelons of computer excellence. They are from number one to four

Joseph Kenny writes for the Personal Loans Store, with more secured loan information and read the article on Online Loans. Visit today: http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk/