White Paper

Collection Strategies for Locating Hidden and Transferred Assets

 
Often, the hardest part of any litigation is not getting the judgment, but collecting on the amounts the Court says your client is owed. And, outside of collections, the problem of hidden assets is one that can come up in family law, bankruptcy, and even criminal law, making the task of locating those assets one that every lawyer should have tools for.

What types of Assets might be hidden?

Depending on what you mean by hidden, anything can be “hidden” from the person looking for it. While some assets are easily hidden and/or hard to trace (think: cash, jewelry, collectibles), other assets may be ‘hidden in plain sight’ by creative titling (putting real estate or bank accounts in another person’s name, running things through a corporation or LLC).

As a result, litigators will want to focus on ways of finding any asset, regardless of how big (or small) it is, and how the asset is held or controlled (such as titling or deposits.) Once you have located the asset, you can then determine how best to seize it.

Keep in mind, too, that a debtor may not, technically, own an asset any more: transferring the asset, or title, is the easiest way to claim the property does not belong to the debtor.

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Briane Pagel is a Partner at Kerkman & Dunn. He has been litigating in complicated collection and consumer cases for 16 years, representing both creditors and debtors. Mr. Pagel has tried numerous cases in state and federal court and has helped clients utilize creative procedures to recover money and property even where prior trial counsel had failed.

Faculty

Briane Pagel

Briane Pagel

Kerkman & Dunn