Asset Search · Judgment Recovery · Nationwide Coverage
The asset search company attorneys call when the answer has to hold.
Empire Investigation has been documenting asset positions for attorneys, judgment creditors, executors, and business owners since 1982. Lawful discovery, court-admissible reporting, and the experience to know what a public record is — and is not — telling you.
What An Asset Investigation Is
A documented picture of what someone actually owns.
An asset investigation reconstructs a subject's holdings — real property, business interests, vehicles, judgments and liens, and the ownership relationships that connect them — from lawful sources. The work is not a database printout. It is a trained investigator working county recorders, federal and state courts, business registries, UCC filings, regulatory databases, and licensed skip-trace platforms, then cross-checking the result.
The goal is admissible: findings counsel can rely on in settlement negotiation, judgment enforcement, probate filings, or board-level decisions. Anything that cannot be sourced to a record is reported as a lead, not a conclusion. That is the difference between a real asset search and a discount data dump.
When Clients Hire An Asset Investigator
Six moments where the answer changes the strategy.
Before judgment or settlement
Knowing what a defendant actually owns shapes settlement positioning, lien strategy, and whether litigation is worth pursuing in the first place.
Post-judgment collection
A judgment without an asset record is a piece of paper. Asset discovery turns a docket entry into recoverable property, garnishable accounts, and leverage.
Probate and estate matters
When a decedent's affairs are scattered across entities, properties, and accounts, executors and beneficiaries need a documented picture before distributions.
Divorce and family law
High-asset divorces frequently involve undisclosed business interests, transferred property, and entities held in third-party names. Asset work surfaces what discovery may miss.
Due diligence and credit decisions
Before extending credit, entering a partnership, or buying a business, an asset and liability picture reveals litigation exposure, liens, and ownership reality.
Fraud and concealment
When money or property has moved in ways that do not add up, structured asset intelligence documents the transfer pattern.
What An Asset Search Surfaces
The categories that matter to counsel.
Real Property
Recorded ownership, transfers, mortgages, liens, and parcel-level records across counties and states.
Business Interests
LLCs, partnerships, corporations, assumed names, and beneficial ownership relationships.
Judgments, Liens, UCCs
Civil judgments, federal and state tax liens, UCC-1 filings, and financial-pressure indicators.
Court and Litigation History
Civil, criminal, bankruptcy, and probate filings that contextualize current claims.
Multi-State Coverage
Public-records depth in all 50 states, federal court systems, and most U.S. territories.
Transfer and Concealment Patterns
Property reconveyances, entity shuffles, and affiliate moves that may indicate asset protection or concealment.
Our Process
From intake to written report.
01
Confidential intake
We learn the matter, the legal context, and what an answer would change. Engagements are direct with the principal or counsel — never shared, never resold.
02
Scoped investigative plan
We map jurisdictions, subjects, related entities, and the public-record surface that fits the question. You receive a written scope and flat or capped fee.
03
Lawful asset discovery
We work public records, court filings, business registries, regulatory databases, licensed skip-trace platforms, and field verification — never pretext or unauthorized data access.
04
Report and follow-through
Findings are delivered in a structured written report suitable for counsel, settlement use, or judgment-enforcement filings. We brief by phone and support follow-on work as the matter develops.
Specialized Asset Investigations
Where the asset work lives.
Hidden Asset Search
Concealed interests, undisclosed entities, and assets moved out of view.
Tracing Assets After Death
Reconstructing a decedent's holdings for executors, beneficiaries, and probate counsel.
Judgment Recovery
Turning a judgment into collectable assets — property, accounts, business income.
Commercial Asset Investigations
Business-to-business asset work for credit, litigation, and M&A decisions.
Bank Account Search
Lawful financial account discovery for judgment creditors and litigation.
Nationwide Asset Search
Full multi-state and federal coverage for cross-jurisdiction matters.
Asset Locator Services
End-to-end identification and documentation of subject assets.
Lawful Methods Only
What Empire will not do.
Federal law restricts how account-level financial information can be obtained. Empire does not use pretext calls to banks, brokerages, or other financial institutions. We do not access protected consumer data outside permissible-purpose categories under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We do not promise to find specific accounts or guarantee that concealed assets exist.
What we do is build a documented, source-cited picture from lawful records — work that has held up for forty-four years of attorney engagements and judgment-recovery support.
Frequently Asked
Questions counsel and clients ask before they call.
What is an asset search company?
An asset search company is a licensed investigative firm that locates and documents assets — real property, business interests, vehicles, ownership relationships, and financial footprints — using public records, court filings, regulatory databases, and licensed skip-trace tools. Empire Investigation has performed asset work for attorneys, judgment creditors, executors, and private clients since 1982.
When should someone hire an asset investigator?
The most common moments are before filing or settling litigation, during judgment recovery, after a death when assets are unaccounted for, during a high-asset divorce, before partnering with or extending credit to a person or company, and when a debtor or counterparty appears to be concealing interests.
Can a private investigator access bank account information?
Federal law (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, FCRA) prohibits pretexting to obtain bank account details. Empire does not use illegal pretext calls or unauthorized data access. Lawful bank account discovery is built from public-record evidence, deposition leads, judgment debtor examinations, UCC filings, and court-supervised disclosure — work that is admissible and supports collection.
How long does an asset search take?
Most single-subject asset searches return a written report in 5 to 10 business days. Multi-jurisdiction, business-entity, or post-judgment recovery investigations involving cross-referenced ownership structures typically run two to four weeks. Empire scopes timelines during the confidential consultation.
Do you work nationwide?
Yes. Empire is headquartered in Pittsburgh and conducts asset investigations throughout the United States, drawing on national public-records platforms, state and county recorders, federal court records, business registries, and a vetted network of licensed investigators in other jurisdictions when on-the-ground work is required.
Will the subject know they are being investigated?
Asset searches are document-driven and confidential. The subject is not contacted, surveilled, or notified unless a client specifically requests an investigative interview as a separate scope of work. Findings are delivered only to the engaging client or their counsel.
Confidential Asset Review
Start with what the records actually show.
A confidential consultation with Empire — direct, no obligation, no shared notes.
Time-sensitive matter? Our 24/7 line is answered live — confidential callbacks.
Prefer to call? (800) 860-6068 · Licensed · Bonded · Established 1982