When many people think of domestic investigation they think of infidelity investigations. However private detectives look into many other domestic situations and are often instrumental in helping children get out of dangerous home situations. 

Unfortunately, child abuse and neglect cases are skyrocketing. The Department of Protective Services handles as many of these cases as they can but they are sometimes limited as to how much information they can uncover or how much help they can give. Friends, ex-spouses and extended family members who suspect abuse or neglect sometimes hire private investigators to look into the situation. 

Private domestic investigation can uncover situations of neglect and abuse. Investigators can find information that helps cases or allows families to seek help outside of the agency. These investigations can be carried out discreetly without alerting the family using methods such as covert surveillance. More direct investigations can include questioning friends and neighbors to confirm the situation.

As times turn hard, Americans have to cut back to make ends meet. With increased unemployment, freezes on raises and reduction in benefits, especially health insurance, many of them find things getting increasingly desperate. Their situation goes from being unable to afford cable television to being unable to afford groceries. 

Even decent, law-abiding citizens start to face hard decisions. The type of person who will go back to a store if they are given an extra quarter in change is now in a situation where it is a choice between defrauding a faceless corporation or losing the family home. These aren’t the professional con artists that surveillance companies are used to dealing with, but average people facing above average financial problems.

Private investigative firms conduct asset searches using a host of techniques as varied as the schemes to hide the money. Simple cases may involve searching on the target’s Social Security number to find accounts they thought were hidden. However few cases are simple. Liquid assets may be located by following the money. Investigators find accounts then follow every transaction, hoping to find other accounts belonging to false identities or accomplices. They look under the subject’s name and variations of that name; you’d be surprised how many people think Peter Edwards is a hard-to-guess alias for Edward Peters. Women often use their maiden names to hide money. Personal property such as jewelry or vehicles can be very difficult to locate. 

Asset searches look not only for current assets but potential ones. If the target is employed, garnishing wages is a common method for gaining restitution. If the person is self-employed, there are no wages to garnish so it becomes more difficult. There are two reasons people hire Houston and Dallas private investigators to conduct their asset searches. Most people don’t have the skills and wouldn’t even know where to begin. Trained investigators can accomplish more in an hour than the typical person could in a month. 

A more important reason is the legal ramifications. Asset searches involve invading a person’s privacy and can lead to trouble if not conducted correctly. Some methods are legal only when conducted by a licensed investigator; others aren’t legal at all. Do you know the difference? Private investigators conduct searches quickly and legally and by using one you get the money you deserve more quickly. 

Winning the court case means that it has been determined that the other party is at fault and must pay up, but it is rare that the party actually does so. If this person were willing to take responsibility no legal action would have been necessary. 

One popular way of avoiding payment if for the person or corporation involved to hide their money then claim inability to pay. Asset searches are necessary to find the party’s financial resources. Once they money is found then further action can be taken to make sure it ends up in your hands. 

There are countless tricks people use to hide their wealth and that is what makes asset searches so challenging. Techniques can be as simple as withdrawing their savings in cash and burying it in the backyard. People can hide the money in accounts under the name of a child, friend or other willing party. Methods can get as complex as a web of false identities using stolen Social Security numbers.

It is common practice to run complete background investigations on workers from factory line employees to CEO candidates. In fact, the higher a position in the company, the more likely the need for an investigation. 

Calling an applicant’s previous employer is no longer a useful avenue of investigation. Increased liability means that HR departments won’t do any more than confirm that a person used to work there. This applicant might have been fired for embezzlement or assault on a co-worker, and yet their employer can’t admit that to you without risking a lawsuit. 

Not all revelations need to be that dramatic. Falsification of credentials from past work history to college degrees is common at all levels of employment. Discovering this fraud says a lot about the applicant’s character and saves your company embarrassment.