How Do I Know If My Opponent Owns Any Assets?
Determining an individual’s or a company’s financial status is a key step in the early decision-making process about whether to bring a claim.This directly goes towards the cost; benefit analysis that should be conducted at the very outset of any dispute- so its clear what best case, worst case and a ‘win’ actually looks like and means in commercial terms. This is why an initial review and advice on best next steps carries so much weight and value when contemplating litigation.
Time after time we encounter situations where parties in a dispute instruct us later in the process, often where other non specialists have been instructed or companies or individuals have embarked on litigation based on the flawed assumption that obtaining a Judgment equates to payment, or that paying solicitors means a guaranteed win. Neither assumptions are correct.
A win in court is essentially a court stamped confirmation that money, damages, assets or property is owned or owed by someone, to someone else. Importantly the court does not enforce its own orders- so for example if you ‘win’ in a money claim and a judge agrees money is owed, but the defendant doesn’t pay, you need to be really clear what steps you’re going to take to force recovery. These questions need to be asked at the beginning before you embark on any dispute, not at the end by which time you will already have incurred costs and time in litigation. If you then find an opponent has no assets or means to be forced to pay, you might have wasted time and money with little to no prospect of an upside.
So bottom line- you need to know if an opponent owns assets as early as possible, you need to keep a close eye on this throughout the course of any dispute- and you need to price this information into your decision-making process at all times.
Assessing prospects of success, cost; benefit of different potential steps, assessing the best leverage and approach to monetise your dispute are all fundamentally important skills and steps our specialist commercial, property and construction litigation teams handle on a daily basis in the disputes we’re handling. If you are facing a dispute and are asking these types of questions, our team at Helix have decades of experience working in similar situations nationally. We can often help the most at the very outset of any dispute. You will find us candid in our approach and happy to use the combination of our experience and commercial acumen to maximise your recovery. If you need assistance we’d love to help you.
There are different ways to establish a person’s or a business’s solvency and assets. The most appropriate steps and approach will vary on a case by case basis.
This article examines why asset checks are so necessary before a claim and how to find out financial information.
Why Asset Checks Matter Before You Issue a Claim
Even if you have a claim with high prospects of success, if the person on the receiving end of your claim has no assets, then they won’t be able to pay you when you obtain a judgment.
It is critical to consider and to calculate both your legal prospects of success and commercially speaking, your ability to force payment of any sum the court orders and confirms that you’re entitled to. Checking (discreetly) assets of an opponent, without the opponent knowing you have done so (to avoid tipping them off) should be amongst the most significant considerations and steps taken before starting any claim.
Thinking in this way and strategically thinking about what’s needed and the most appropriate and important steps are critical in litigation- a good example of how we add value to protect and improve the position of our clients where we’re instructed.
There is a difference between the respondent having assets that might be hard to pursue and recover against, versus having no assets.
Public Records and Registries to Verify Assets
A lot of information is available via public records, which anyone can access either for free or for a small fee. It may not provide the whole picture, but it acts as a helpful starting point.
Checking Land Registry for Property Assets
Land Registry is a governmental department that oversees the record of land and property ownership in England and Wales. If you have a property address, then you can search to see who owns it for a small fee of £3 per search.
The Land Registry will show whether a property is co-owned and whether there are any mortgages or charges affecting its value. Reading and assessing the content of a Register of Title is important. We can informally assess values, lending and equity from relevant information including whether a debtor is highly geared and owes significant sums, or represents a good prospect of recovery.
Equity in a property may be available to satisfy a judgement debt, subject to any pre-existing mortgages or charges, the balance of which won’t be visible.
What the Land Registry can’t do is search against an individual’s name to see if they own any other properties without the sanction of a court order.
Where a debtor is a company it is possible to run a PN1 search with land registry to establish what property assets are owned by that company. You may know of one address that is highly geared with low equity, but be unaware of other owned properties. Finding out this information can drastically change and improve your position.
Company Asset Checks via Companies House
Companies House is the official government register for companies in the UK. It maintains up-to-date publicly available records, but only for limited companies.
Companies House is a hive of helpful information, including the names and addresses of directors and the latest set of filed accounts. It will record whether a company is active, dissolved, or in administration.
Crucially, Companies House provides information on a company’s ownership structure, financial obligations, and secured loans. We review, assess and consider all of the information within our review and advice phases before any correspondence or communications are sent.
Registry Trust, CCJs and Insolvency Records
The Registry Trust maintains a record of fines, court orders, and judgements against individuals or companies in England and Wales.
A small fee of £10 will reveal the records to you for a person or business, indicating whether they have outstanding fines or County Court Judgements (CCJs) yet to be satisfied, potentially impacting whether they’ll be able to pay your claim.
You can find insolvency records for individuals on the Individual Insolvency Register. If the respondent is already subject to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or is bankrupt, this could impact your decision to start a claim and your prospects of recovery.
Company insolvency is detailed in the Insolvency Notices section of the London Gazette, where there may be information about any winding-up petitions presented against a corporation.
Practical Enforcement and Follow-Up Steps After Judgment
The court won’t enforce your judgment and the burden (and cost) of doing so is your responsibility. There are different ways to do this, including a charging order and forcing sale of property and shares, obtaining a warrant of control, an attachment of earnings order, or a third-party debt order. By far the most effective form of enforcement is a charging order. For this to be available and viable the debtor must own property assets.
A successful claimant can also ask the court to order a debtor to attend court and answer questions about their financial position, a valuable prelude to applying for one of the enforcement methods above.
Other Factors to Consider Before Relying on Public Search Results
There are two things to bear in mind with public search results. The first is that they could raise more questions than they answer.
Second, the information harvested may be part of a complex and incomplete picture, the rest of which is hidden (potentially deliberately) from view.
Being able to, and experienced in, actually reading and understanding what the information and data available actually means in practical terms is critical.
How Helix Law Can Help You Assess and Enforce Assets
Asset ownership may be convoluted and complex, hidden behind trusts, shell companies, or complicated ownership structures. It can be challenging for someone without the proper skill set to track down assets to satisfy a claim.
Some information is publicly available, and some is not. The well-informed and financially savvy know how to play this system, hiding money and assets in areas away from public scrutiny.
In virtually all matters where we are instructed we start with a review and advice on your current position and next steps. This necessarily includes a detailed review of the assets position of the opponent so you and we can clearly assess the best approach and next steps. We also use this information to assess whether it stacks up for us to offer alternative forms of funding so as no win no fee agreements.
It’s vital that these investigations are discreet and don’t alert the other party to the likelihood of legal action if you’re already involved in a dispute, to prevent assets from being sold or transferred. Whilst such transactions can be unwound if not legitimate, these further steps in and of themselves can increase costs.
At Helix Law, our expert team use a mix of routes to trace assets including using publicly available information and financial analysis to build as clear a picture as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Check What Assets Someone Has?
There are many ways to establish an individual’s assets, including searching the Land Registry for property ownership, checking previous judgements in public records, and even searching social media platforms. Expert help is essential to conduct a thorough, legal, and discreet search.
How to Tell if a Company Has Assets?
Limited companies must file information with Companies House, which is available for public view, including company ownership and structure, and the latest set of accounts. However, it may take an experienced, professional lawyer or accountant to decipher this information and identify assets hidden within trusts or shell companies. We can also submit a PN1 search with land registry to identify the address of all property registered in England and Wales owned by a company.
How to Track Someone’s Assets?
An experienced and specialist litigation solicitor will have established routes of investigation and prescribed methods to research someone’s financial position and assets. It’s vital to follow a methodical process and obtain an accurate picture, as this informs whether to start a claim and how best to enforce any judgment.
Do I Need a Solicitor to Enforce a Judgment?
Technically speaking, no. You can enforce a judgment yourself. Just as you might repair a vehicle yourself. The questions of what to do, when, how and what is most effective however requires the exercise of judgment and strategic thinking that is ultimately borne out of experience. Without legal advice you risk worsening your position or missing an easy win all of which might lead to delay and/or unnecessary costs being incurred.
Contact Helix Law to Discover Whether Your Opponent Owns Any Assets
Prospects of success and the availability of assets are critical. We don’t encourage or allow you to incur costs with us before both you and we are clear on the cost; benefit and the pros and cons of the various steps you might take, and might need to take. If you are involved in a dispute and are concerned to ensure you are actually going to win in practical terms (not just on paper), contact our experienced team at Helix Law for targeted, professional advice. We work nationally and would love to assist you.
