Los Angeles Asset Search

LOS ANGELES ASSET SEARCH PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

Stryker Investigation Services Inc. One solution for all your investigative services since 2000

Does a Debtor owe you money? Do you have a judgment against them? 

Asset Search Private Investigator (800) 733-1950. Are you looking for a Los Angeles, California, Asset Search Private Investigator? Stryker provides the Best-in-Class professional nationwide asset search, pre-litigation, probate, and estate discovery, judgment enforcement remedies, and investigation services to law firms, businesses, and private clients. We are an investigation agency specializing in representing judgment creditors as aggressively as the law allows in matters of judgment enforcement and recovery. Whether you’re looking to conduct a pre-litigation / pre-judgment asset search, or you already have a civil judgment in place and you need to find bank accounts. At Stryker, we bring the same persistent determination to go the extra mile if that’s what it takes to get you an equitable outcome. You won’t get lost in the shuffle with our firm, because we provide individualized attention to each case and each person. Our consultations are free of charge, and the consultation allows you an opportunity to talk to someone who understands your situation.

Our firm specializes in comprehensive investigative services tailored to meet the complex needs of legal professionals throughout their case lifecycle. We offer extensive pre-litigation support services, including thorough background investigations, advanced skip-tracing, professional witness interviews, and detailed financial analyses across domestic accounts. Our asset investigation platform delivers actionable intelligence for attorneys pursuing judgment enforcement, with capabilities extending to public records examination and permissible financial account searches. The pre-litigation intelligence package provides counsel with a meticulously detailed two-phase report encompassing critical public records, including real property transactions, encumbrances, corporate entities and their principals, and relevant litigation history. For post-judgment matters, we assist judgment creditors nationwide in identifying and documenting recoverable assets through legally authorized channels. Our investigative methodologies strictly adhere to all applicable state and federal regulations while delivering the actionable intelligence needed to advance your cases effectively.

We provide pre-litigation and post-judgment remedies to judgment creditors throughout the US. Working on behalf of our Orange County clients seeking to enforce civil judgments awarding financial damages or seeking the return of funds misappropriated by the use of conversion or other means. Stryker can identify missing or unknown assets, previously unknown or hidden bank, savings, brokerage accounts. Our experience includes multi-jurisdictional investigations involving offshore capital flight havens, creditor-unfriendly jurisdictions, complex investment group structures, and nominee and alter ego companies.

TYPES OF BANK AND BROKERAGE ACCOUNTS WE LOCATE

As a professional asset search company, we search for Tangible Assets (fixed) and Tangible Assets (liquid). Our bank account searches can be conducted [locally] statewide, or more expansive searches can be conducted nationwide or even out of the country. After your judgment is entered, you will be informed by the court clerk that court judgments are not self-enforcing. Sometimes, a solvent or honest debtor will want to pay soon after the judgment is entered. A judgment will show up on credit reports and will be a matter of public record. This will be a problem for any judgment debtor attempting to borrow money.

We work for our Los Angeles and LA County clients who seek to enforce civil judgments awarding financial damages or seeking the return of funds misappropriated through conversion or other means. Stryker can identify missing or unknown assets and previously unknown or hidden bank, savings, brokerage, or international accounts. Our experience includes multi-jurisdictional investigations involving offshore capital flight havens, creditor-unfriendly jurisdictions, complex investment group structures, and nominee and alter ego companies.

PRE-LITIGATION DUE DILIGENCE

Pre-litigation asset search investigations are part of the counsel’s legal due diligence and are a preemptive tactic used to determine what assets or income may be seized in the event a judgment is ordered. Subsequent, information can be used to determine if the judicial venture is economically worth the effort. The goal of legal due diligence investigation is to assess the potential benefits and risks of settling a case, selling or buying another business or business assets. There are two main areas of focus in a due diligence investigation: the first is to determine the current status, and the second is to determine the consequences of a potential agreement.

Evidence obtained during this process can be admissible in court and used at trial to prepare a better case. A secured position will give a creditor significant leverage over the debtor that may prompt the debtor into a quick settlement.  It may also provide significant protection in the event of a bankruptcy or even prompt the debtor not to file bankruptcy because secured debts are not dischargeable. A court order or judgment does not need to be in place to conduct a pre-judgment asset search. This information is derived from public records. Our principal investigator searches millions of public records to compile the most comprehensive report for our clients. Our pre-judgment assets search is significantly cheaper than an asset search that provides banking or brokerage information.

A Probate Asset Investigator can help counsel, surviving family members, the administrator of the estate or the executor find missing or unknown bank accounts and assist in identifying insurance policies. It is necessary for an estate’s executor to conduct a search for all of the decedent’s assets, including hidden assets, when preparing an estate inventory. The decedent’s important papers will include information about the decedent’s assets, including bank and brokerage statements, stock and bond certificates, life insurance policies, corporate records, car and boat titles, and deeds; and information about the decedent’s debts, including utility bills, credit card bills, mortgages, personal loans, medical bills and the funeral bill. 

Overview of Probate Asset Searches;

• Financial Accounts (Statewide or Nationwide Bank Account Search, Brokerage, Mutual Fund, and Retirement Accounts)
• Life Insurance Policies and Annuity Contracts
• Personal/Family Trusts
• Real Property and Tangible Assets (Motor Vehicles, Aircraft, Boats)
• Business Interests (Including Private Companies, Shell Corporations, and Special-Purpose LLCs)

The individual (or bank or trust company) appointed to settle the estate of the testator under a will is called an executor or personal representative.  If there is no will, a person, usually a family member, will be appointed to deal with the decedent’s estate, and the appointed person is called an administrator.

Whether you’re looking to conduct a pre-litigation / pre-judgment asset search or you already have a civil judgment in place, at Stryker, we bring the same persistent determination to go the extra mile if that’s what it takes to get you an equitable outcome. You won’t get lost in the shuffle with our firm because we provide individualized attention to each case and each person. Our consultations are free of charge, allowing you to talk to someone who understands your situation and its legal environment.

Stryker has extensive experience in asset search investigation services and provides the legal industry with litigation support services. This comprehensive program includes searches for assets such as banks, savings accounts, brokerages, stocks, bonds, and business partnerships.

These services are typically used in pre-trial litigation to formulate a strategic battle plan that can be leveraged during negotiations or to determine whether a lawsuit is economically worth pursuing.

Stryker Investigation Services Inc. operates in full compliance with debt collection laws, and have made substantial investments in technology to provide our clients with the best-in-class access to relevant debtor information, as allowed by the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), IRS, Federal Trade Commission, US Department of Labor Garnishment Laws. In order to conduct an asset investigation, the requestor or creditor must have a permissible purpose. A permissible purpose is defined by a legal right to delve into privileged or private information on an individual or business.

Wage Garnishment

In most states, garnishments can be used to recover debts of any type, including credit cards and other commercial debts. However, in four states – Texas, Pennsylvania, and North and South Carolina – wages can only be garnished for debts from delinquent taxes, child support, (federally-guaranteed) student loans, and fines that were ordered by the court. In addition, Florida wage garnishment laws provide a “head-of-household exemption” that prohibits the wage garnishment of someone who supplies at least 50% of the support for a child or other dependent.

Bank Levy

When a bank receives a notice of a levy, it must immediately freeze the debtor’s account. In addition to being unable to make a withdrawal, the bank account is frozen, and any outstanding checks or automatic debit card payments won’t clear (unless there are enough exempt funds in the account). A federal law that went into effect in May of 2011 requires that banks receiving a garnishment order for an account-holder who receives federal benefits review their deposits for the last two months to determine if any of these funds were deposited and are thus exempt. By Federal Law, a bank must wait 21 calendar days after a levy is served before sending payment. The Sheriff holds the funds for 20 more days and then releases it on the next business day. Of course, under ideal circumstances, the depositor(s) can waive this waiting period.

Jointly Owned Accounts – Rights and Limitations

When the debtor owns an account jointly with another individual who is not a spouse, the law usually presumes that both individuals have equal rights to funds held in that account. So, when a creditor attempts to garnish that account, it typically doesn’t have to investigate whether you contributed more money to the account than the co-owner. Unfortunately, for the non-debtor, this could mean that the money in their account could be garnished to pay for the co-owners debt, a debt that the non-debtor never owed. Laws vary on the extent to which creditors can garnish joint accounts. In some states, creditors can’t take more than half of the funds in a joint account. However, in other states — like Ohio, Michigan, and West Virginia — creditors may be able to garnish the entire joint account. California law (CCP § 700.160(b)) allows a judgment creditor to collect money from the bank account in the name of the debtor’s spouse even when the debtor’s name is not on the account.

The New Jersey Multiple Party Deposit Account Act (“NJMPDAA”), N.J.S.A. § 17:16I-1, et seq., which governs “multiple-party deposit accounts” (“MPDAs”), including joint bank accounts, provides in relevant part: Unless a contrary intent is manifested by the terms of the contract, or the deposit agreement, or there is other clear and convincing evidence of a different intent at the time the account is created:  a. A joint account belongs, during the lifetime of all parties, to the parties in proportion to the net contributions by each to the sums on deposit. In the absence of proof of net contributions, the account belongs in equal shares to all parties having a present right of withdrawal. 

Pre-litigation

Pre-litigation asset search investigations are a preemptive tactic used to determine what assets or income may be seized in the event a judgment is ordered. Subsequent, information can be used to determine if the judicial venture is economically worth the effort. Evidence obtained during this process can be admissible in court and used at trial to prepare a better case.

A secured position will give a creditor significant leverage over the debtor that may prompt the debtor into a quick settlement.  It may also provide significant protection in the event of a bankruptcy (or even prompt the debtor not to file bankruptcy) because secured debts are not dischargeable.

Stryker would like to caution potential clients that there is a big difference between the terms “asset search investigation” and “financial investigation.” These are two completely different investigations that require completely different professional experts and skill sets.

An asset is an economic resource. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset. As such, an asset search investigation is relatively easy to conduct, as the majority of Tangible Assets (fixed) are documented in public records. Though Tangible Assets; (liquid) are not a matter of public record and require a permissible purpose to conduct a search.

Tangible Assets: (fixed) real estate, buildings, homes, equipment and machinery, tools, equity in a property, capital assets, gold, and minerals after extraction. Stryker

Tangible Assets: (liquid) current assets and other assets that can be converted to cash, such as liquid assets, bank accounts, money market fund shares, bonds, mutual funds, and the cash value of a life insurance policy. Stryker

On the other hand, a financial investigation is a completely different investigation. At its simplest, a financial investigation tries to determine where the money comes from, how it moves, and how it is used. Also known as forensic accounting, this type of investigation is often crucial when dealing with corporate investigations, theft, embezzlement, money laundering, dishonest employees and can be associated with criminal charges. Investigators analyze all documents that show the paper trail of events involving money with the primary objective of documenting the movement of money.

Tracing funds and activities within companies and across jurisdictions presents complex challenges to which our experts apply their forensic investigative abilities. Stryker team provides financial investigative expertise for class actions, civil litigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and white-collar criminal matters.

There is a variety of reasons an attorney will need to use the services of a private investigator.

• As part of investigative services for ongoing litigation, civil, criminal, divorce matters…etc.
• To find assets to use as leverage during the course of negotiations,
• or to determine whether a lawsuit is economically worth pursuing.

Citations:

Federal Statute: Title III, Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), 15 USC, §§1671 et seq. / Code of Federal Regulations: 29 CFR Part 870 / Explanatory Brochures and Regulatory Materials Online: www.dol.gov/whd, www.wagehour.dol.gov / U.S. Wage and Hour Division: Fact Sheet #30 – The Federal Wage Garnishment Law, Consumer Credit Protection Act’s Title III (CCPA) / Field Operations Handbook – 02/09/2001, Rev. 644, Chapter 16, Title III – Consumer Credit Protection Act (Wage Garnishment)

LOOKING FOR AN ASSET SEARCH PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR IN LOS ANGELES? (800) 733-1950 | Talk to our private investigator about our investigations services in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles City, City of Los Angeles, LA County, LA, | Our most recent investigation inquiries in Los Angeles and LA County (800) 733-1950 Does a Debtor owe you money? Do you have a judgment against them?