What if I Suspect a Debtor is Hiding Assets?

 Posted on September 20, 2024 in Asset Recovery

People who have gone into severe debt may try to hide assets from their creditors, hoping to avoid repaying even part of their debt. After getting a judgment against your debtor, you can still only collect what your debtor can pay based on his or her assets and wages. You may come to realize that your debtor appears to have more money or a more upscale lifestyle than he or she should be able to afford based on the assets he or she reported. When this is the case, it is quite likely that the debtor is hiding assets from you and his or her other creditors. An experienced Chicago, IL asset recovery lawyer can help you search for any assets your debtor may be concealing.

How Debtors Try to Hide Assets 

People may try to conceal assets in any number of ways, such as: 

• Putting assets in another person’s name - Your debtor may have no savings to his name, but his five-year-old daughter might have a shockingly large bank account in her name. People may also do things like retitling their cars so the vehicle appears to be owned by a family member while the original owner continues driving it. 
• Using cryptocurrency - It can be very hard to prove who owns cryptocurrency or when and how it was purchased. Some people will sell assets or convert savings to cryptocurrency, thinking this will shield their money from debt collection efforts. 
• Opening a foreign bank account - Wealthier debtors, and those who are involved in crime, will sometimes open a bank account in another country. It can be much more difficult to access money that is in a foreign bank account. 
• Literal hiding - Some debtors will quite literally hide assets. For example, if you are planning to repossess a debtor’s car, he or she might park it in the neighbor’s garage for a while, hoping you will not find it. Others will withdraw significant cash from their accounts and claim to have spent it all very quickly while it sits under their mattresses. 

There are steps an attorney can help you take to find hidden assets. A lawyer may suggest involving other professionals who can help search for money and property your debtor might be concealing.

Contact a Cook County, IL Asset Recovery Lawyer 

Dimand Walinski Law Offices, P.C. is committed to helping banks, credit unions, and other lenders recover their assets. Our experienced Chicago, IL debt collection attorneys will carefully search for hidden assets during the collection process. Contact us at 312-704-0771 for a confidential consultation.