Skip Tracing vs. Asset Searching: Understanding the Differences & Use Cases

Two investigative strategies stand out when searching for up-to-date information about someone for a legal case: skip tracing and asset searching. These two methods are essential for locating individuals and their assets, but they each serve slightly different purposes and involve different types of information. Let’s delve into the nuances that set these two powerful techniques apart.

Skip Tracing

Skip tracing involves the art of locating individuals who have “skipped” out or intentionally vanished from the radar, often with the intention of evading legal obligations like debts, court appearances, or responsibilities. This technique employs a variety of tactics to track down these individuals:

Public Records: Skip tracers meticulously scour public records such as court documents and government databases to gather fragments of information that can help pinpoint the individual’s whereabouts.

Database Expertise: Specialized databases are a skip tracer’s toolkit, providing access to utility bills, credit reports, and financial records. These data trails are followed to trace recent activities.

Online Sleuthing: The digital footprint is another goldmine. Skip tracers scour social media platforms and various online sources to gather breadcrumbs about the person’s present location or activities.

Connecting the Dots: Reaching out to friends, family, associates, or former colleagues can yield valuable insights that lead to the individual’s discovery.

In a nutshell, skip tracing is all about uncovering the whereabouts of an individual who has deliberately vanished, usually to avoid legal responsibilities.

Asset Searching

Asset searching, however, revolves around identifying and evaluating an individual’s possessions—property, investments, bank accounts, vehicles, and other valuables. This type of search serves diverse purposes:

Debt Scrutiny: Creditors resort to asset searches to gauge an individual’s financial capacity to settle outstanding debts.

Judgment Collection: Lawyers acquire asset searches to ascertain whether an individual possesses sufficient resources to cover potential legal claims.

Divorce Dynamics: Asset searches play a role in divorce proceedings, ensuring an equitable division of marital property. They also help to uncover any hidden or inappropriately transferred marital assets.

Business Insights: Corporations delve into asset searches before engaging in business transactions, aiming to evaluate potential partners’ financial stability.

To conduct asset searches, investigators delve deep into financial records, property ownership documentation, and financial documents. The aim is to compile a comprehensive inventory of an individual’s fiscal holdings, revealing their financial status.

In summary, skip tracing’s essence lies in locating individuals trying to remain hidden, typically due to legal implications, while asset searching revolves around identifying and assessing an individual’s financial possessions for purposes ranging from debt collection to legal proceedings and business dealings. Before pursuing skip tracing vs. asset searching, ensure you choose the technique that best fits the desired results.