Hidden Asset Investigator Florida & North Carolina | Divorce

Professional Hidden Asset Investigation Services

Follow documented ownership connections, not assumptions.

A hidden asset investigation helps individuals, attorneys, judgment creditors, estates, and businesses develop lawful leads when property, companies, or other ownership interests may not have been fully disclosed. JRS Investigations organizes the inquiry around the client's legitimate purpose, the subject's reliable identifiers, the relevant jurisdictions, and the facts that must be verified.

Asset research is not a single database search. A useful investigation compares property records, business filings, UCC records, court cases, judgments, liens, bankruptcies, address history, professional information, open sources, and other available records. Names, dates, addresses, officers, registered agents, associates, and entity relationships must be reconciled before a record is attributed to the subject.

JRS Investigations provides lawful asset-research support in Florida, North Carolina, the Caribbean, and other authorized jurisdictions. Availability varies by location and record type. We explain the proposed scope, limitations, timing, and expected report before work begins.

For related services, review our public-record and asset research guide and our broader private investigation services.

Free Confidential Hidden Asset Investigation Consultation

When a Hidden Asset Investigation May Help

The objective determines the research plan. A divorce inquiry, judgment matter, probate case, fraud allegation, and business transaction involve different legal questions and different records.

Divorce, Support, and Family-Law Matters

Counsel or an authorized client may need to identify recorded property, business interests, liens, litigation, entity affiliations, or transfers that deserve closer review during financial disclosure. Investigative findings can help counsel decide what to pursue through discovery, subpoena, deposition, or court order. Our Florida attorney investigation support page explains how research can be coordinated with legal strategy.

Judgments and Creditor Matters

A judgment creditor may need current leads involving real estate, companies, vehicles where lawfully available, UCC interests, recorded encumbrances, litigation, or business activity. An asset lead does not establish that property is collectible, unencumbered, or owned free of competing claims. Learn more about judgment-recovery investigation support.

Probate, Estates, and Inheritance

Asset research may help identify property, entities, recorded claims, litigation, or connections relevant to an estate, heir, beneficiary, or fiduciary review. The investigation is scoped carefully because ownership at one point in time does not prove current ownership or entitlement.

Fraud and Business Due Diligence

Before a transaction, investment, partnership, or significant contract, research may identify undisclosed companies, litigation, regulatory history, liens, judgments, property connections, or inconsistencies in representations. Our due diligence investigations and background investigation services provide additional context for people and entity verification.

How a Hidden Asset Investigation Works

1. Define the Lawful Purpose and Questions

We confirm who is requesting the work, why the information is needed, how it will be used, the jurisdictions involved, and any legal deadline. When counsel is involved, the research plan can be aligned with the issues in the case.

2. Develop the Subject and Related Entities

Reliable identifiers reduce false matches. Useful information may include full legal names, dates of birth, known addresses, employers, company names, relatives, associates, prior filings, court documents, property descriptions, and records supplied by the client.

3. Research and Reconcile Records

Depending on the authorized scope, investigators may review business entities, corporate officers, registered agents, real property, deeds, mortgages, UCC filings, liens, judgments, bankruptcies, civil litigation, licensing records, vehicle information where permitted, and open-source information. Florida research may use the state's official Sunbiz business-record search, its UCC information resources, and the Florida Department of Revenue directory of county property appraisers. Federal litigation and bankruptcy records may also be reviewed through PACER when relevant.

4. Verify Connections and Conflicts

A similar name, shared address, or company relationship is not proof of ownership. Investigators compare multiple identifiers, filing dates, document histories, related parties, and jurisdictional sources. Conflicts and gaps are reported rather than forced into a conclusion.

5. Deliver an Organized Report

The report explains the scope, sources reviewed, significant findings, entity and property connections, unresolved issues, and material limitations. Supporting records may be organized for efficient review by the client, attorney, accountant, trustee, or other authorized professional.

What an Asset Investigation Cannot Promise or Access

JRS Investigations does not hack accounts, impersonate financial institutions, use false pretenses, or promise access to private bank balances, investment statements, tax returns, credit reports, private messages, or confidential trust records without consent or lawful authority. We do not guarantee that assets exist, will be located, can be recovered, are unencumbered, or will be admissible in court. Legal process and recovery decisions belong to qualified counsel and the appropriate court or authority.

Caribbean and International Asset Investigations

Cross-border matters may involve real estate, companies, partnerships, trusts, litigation, business interests, or related parties in more than one jurisdiction. JRS Investigations coordinates lawful research through available registries, court records, public filings, open sources, attorneys, and qualified local resources.

International work requires careful verification. Entity names can change, ownership structures may use several companies, and records may be decentralized, delayed, incomplete, fee-based, or available only through local procedure. A record showing a director, shareholder, registered office, or historical connection does not automatically establish present beneficial ownership or control.

International Research May Include

Corporate registrations, directors, officers, shareholders where public, and related entities
Recorded real estate and other property interests
Liens, judgments, insolvency matters, and litigation
Business affiliations, trade names, addresses, and commercial activity
Publicly available trust, foundation, or beneficial-ownership information
Connections between domestic and international people or entities

Private banking data, confidential trust records, tax information, and protected account details require consent, subpoena, court order, or another lawful basis. Findings are reported as verified records or clearly labeled investigative leads. See our international asset investigations page and areas served for additional geographic information.

What Clients Receive

Each engagement begins with a confidential consultation and a written scope based on the client's objective, known facts, available identifiers, jurisdictions, timeline, and budget. The final deliverable may include:

A summary of the investigation and the questions addressed
A source list and description of records reviewed
Property, entity, litigation, lien, judgment, or filing connections
A timeline or relationship map when it helps explain the findings
Copies or citations for material supporting records where available
Unresolved conflicts, record limitations, and recommended lawful follow-up

Why Clients Choose JRS Investigations

Experienced review: Jody R. Stacy has more than 25 years of investigative experience, with prior law-enforcement and United States Coast Guard service.
Licensed operations: JRS Investigations holds Florida Class C license C 2401125, Florida Class A agency license A 2400330, and North Carolina private-investigator license 906236.
Case-specific planning: Research is built around the actual legal, personal, or business question rather than a generic search package.
Clear reporting: Verified records, possible connections, conflicts, and limitations are separated so the reader can assess the evidence.
Cross-jurisdiction coordination: Domestic and selected international leads can be followed through appropriate sources and qualified resources.

For common questions about scope, timing, retainers, and reports, review our private investigator service FAQs.

Hidden Assets in Florida and North Carolina Divorces

Most of our hidden asset work comes from divorce cases, and both states let the court consider what a spouse did with marital money.

Florida: dissipation in the two years before filing

In a Florida divorce, Florida Statute 61.075(1)(i) lets the court consider the intentional dissipation, waste, depletion or destruction of marital assets after the petition is filed or within two years before it. Money spent on an affair, transfers to relatives, cash withdrawals, a business suddenly showing losses, or property retitled to a new company are the patterns we look for in that window. Florida's broad public records, including county official records, Sunbiz filings and property appraiser data, often show transfers that never appear on a financial affidavit.

North Carolina: conduct after separation

In North Carolina equitable distribution, N.C.G.S. 50-20(c)(11a) lets the court consider acts by either party to waste, neglect, devalue or convert marital or divisible property between separation and distribution. Dated records showing what happened to property after the separation date give your attorney a concrete basis for an unequal distribution argument.

Judgment collection in Florida

For creditors, Florida law protects some property, such as qualifying homestead, so the useful question is not only what a debtor owns but which assets can actually be reached. We focus asset leads on non-exempt property, business interests and recent transfers your attorney can evaluate. See our judgment recovery investigations and international asset investigations for offshore matters.

These summaries are general information, not legal advice. Your attorney decides how the findings are used.

Hidden Asset Investigation FAQs

Can a private investigator find bank accounts or balances?

A private investigator cannot lawfully obtain private bank balances or statements without consent or proper legal authority. Public and authorized records may reveal financial connections, businesses, liens, judgments, property, or other leads that counsel can evaluate and pursue through lawful process.

What information should I provide?

Provide the subject's full legal name and reliable identifiers, the reason for the investigation, relevant jurisdictions, known addresses or companies, and any court, property, business, or financial documents already available. Good starting information improves accuracy and helps control cost.

How long does a hidden asset investigation take?

Timing depends on the number of subjects and entities, jurisdictions, record systems, language, document availability, and whether field inquiries or local resources are needed. A focused domestic search may move quickly, while a multi-entity international matter can take longer. We discuss realistic timing before the assignment begins.

How much does a hidden asset investigation cost?

Florida asset research is billed at $125 per hour. Caribbean and other international asset work is billed at $150 USD per hour plus travel and in-country record or translation costs. North Carolina matters are quoted after the consultation. Every assignment starts with a free phone consultation and a written proposal listing the subjects, entities and jurisdictions to be searched, so you approve the scope before any billable work begins.

Can you find assets my spouse moved to a relative or a new LLC?

Often that is exactly where the leads are. JRS checks recent deed transfers, new Florida Sunbiz or North Carolina Secretary of State filings, registered agents and shared addresses that link a spouse to a relative, girlfriend or newly formed company, then reports the connections with their sources so your attorney can decide whether to subpoena the bank or company records.

Can the report be used in court?

The report documents sources and investigative findings, but admissibility is a legal question for counsel and the court. Attorneys may use the findings to guide discovery, subpoenas, depositions, enforcement, settlement, or other lawful steps.

Do you recover or seize assets?

JRS Investigations develops factual leads and documentation. We do not seize property, freeze accounts, provide legal or tax advice, or guarantee recovery. Enforcement and recovery require the appropriate attorney, court, trustee, receiver, agency, or other authorized professional.

Request a Confidential Consultation

Call JRS Investigations at (888) 737-7690 to discuss the purpose, jurisdictions, known facts, timing, and expected report for a hidden asset investigation. We will explain what can be researched lawfully and what information is needed to begin.

Hidden Asset Investigation FAQs

Can you get bank, phone or credit records?

Not without consent or legal process. Protected financial and telephone records are not available to investigators on request, obtaining financial information by pretexting is prohibited by federal law, and credit reports require a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. JRS develops lawful leads from public records and case information that counsel can then pursue.

What kinds of assets can be identified?

Lawful research can identify real estate, business interests, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, liens, judgments, and corporate or trust relationships that point to where value is held. Results depend on available records and the case information provided.

Can the findings be used in court?

Reports separate direct observations, public records and client-supplied information so your attorney can decide how to use them. The investigator may be asked to testify about what was observed. No investigator can guarantee admissibility or a court outcome.

JRS Investigations licensing: Florida Agency License A 2400330 and North Carolina PI License 906236.