What is an Asset Discovery Search?
To better answer this question, we should start by defining and understanding what is meant by asset discovery. Broadly, asset discovery can be defined as a ‘…process of identifying, locating, and documenting assets owned by an individual, organisation, or estate…’.
These assets can include tangible items like property, vehicles, and equipment, as well as intangible items such as financial accounts, intellectual property, and investments. Asset discovery is often conducted during legal proceedings, estate planning, financial audits, or investigations to ensure all relevant assets are accounted for.
This process is crucial in situations like divorce settlements, bankruptcy proceedings, debt recovery, fraud investigations, or when managing the estate of a deceased person. The goal of asset discovery is to create a comprehensive inventory of all valuable items, ensuring transparency, fairness, and compliance with legal or financial obligations.
For the purposes of this explainer and as a reflection of the services that Ellis & Ellis provide, we will confine the parameters accordingly.
As such our asset discovery searching services principally relate to Real Property (Land, buildings, and other forms of real estate), Business Interests (Ownership stakes in businesses, shares, or partnerships), Intellectual Property (Patents, copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual assets), and Liabilities (*).
What searches might be conducted as part of an asset discovery process?
While there are many avenues of asset discovery (†), as mentioned this explainer will confine itself to record searches relating to real estate, company matters, and court filings as follows: –
Real Estate – Assets Search Types: –
| Search Type | Broad Function of Search |
| Names Index Search
(Land Registry) |
Registered title represents the vast majority of land held withing the State (Over 90%). By searching against the Index of Names we can hope to find registered title in the bearer’s name. (‡) |
| Names Index (Grantors) Search
(Registry of Deeds) |
The remaining 10% of real property in the State is unregistered title. However, while it is possible to conduct searches against a name to potentially identify real assets, there are many caveats arising, and a greater degree of caution is advised. |
| Planning Searches | While not an immediately obvious means of tracing assets, planning applications can contain very useful information which could help build up a picture on real interests, and ownership. |
Business/ Company Interests – Asset Search Types: –
| Search Type | Broad Function of Search |
| Directorship Search
Companies Registration Office (CRO) |
This search could perform a few tasks, that is, it may identify whether someone had involvement with businesses/ partnerships, revealing any ownership stakes/ shareholdings, and provide additional addresses to be searched against for real assets. |
| Company Searches | These can assist in determining the overall structure of a company or group companies. Akin to directorship searches, addresses of officers of the company may reveal themselves during research. |
| Business Names Searches | By conducting searches against business names, potential ownership by a legal entity might also be revelatory. Again, searching might reveal potential real assets. |
| Register of Beneficial Ownership Searches | In Article 3(6), 4AMLD, a Beneficial Owner is defined as any natural person(s) who either directly or indirectly ultimately (a) owns more than 25% of the company/society’s shares, (b) controls more than 25% of the company/society’s voting rights or (c) exercises control via other means such as a shareholders’ agreement, dominant influence, or the power to appoint senior management. In Ireland, there are two such registers (CRO & Central Bank) on which beneficial ownership can be registered and searched against. |
Court Filing – Asset Search Types: –
| Search Type | Broad Function of Search |
| Judgment (Debt/ Money) Searches | This search will highlight any potential money judgments which have been registered with the Courts against a bearer of a name. Matching acts will contain addresses, which may transpire to be real assets. (‡) |
| Bankruptcy Searches | This search would establish if an applicant appeared on the bankruptcy register (for the last 12 months only), the Deeds of Arrangements Register from 14th day of April 1922 and the Register of EU Personal Insolvencies from the 14th April 2004. This can be another good source for identifying land assets. (‡) |
| Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) | The ISI process is intended to reach personal insolvency solutions short of bankruptcy itself, with the ultimate goal being ‘…to restore insolvent persons to solvency….’.
A set of searches against the ISI registers can generate other investigatory pathways (‡) |
| Judgments (Lis Pendens/ Real Estate) | Such searches can establish if there any current legal cases going through the High Courts that may affect ownership or title on the sale premises. Again, found acts may provide real estate or other leads. (‡) |
| Proceedings Searches | While there are no addresses recorded alongside matching results for individuals, these searches can still flag potential liabilities. This search is particularly useful when companies are the target of investigations. |
| Revenue Defaulter Searches | Searches here are against the list of published Revenue Defaulters will pick up on matters on tax, possession or sale of certain restricted goods, and licensing failures. Matching acts will have addresses and names with both offer search leads and evidence of liabilities. |
| Petition Searches | A petition search against the High Court records may flag whether a liquidator has, or is potentially about to be, appointed against a company or not. If so, then companies or their directors may be willingly or unwillingly trying to dispose of tangible or intangible assets. This would feed into considerations on the disposal of assets. |
| Sheriff (Civil) Searches | Once a Judgment (Debt/ Money) has be made, it may be registered in a number of places. One such locale is with the Sheriff (Civil). Judgment (Debt/ Money) are not always registered in the Judgments Register. Hence the need to examine these registers. |
| Revenue Sheriff Searches | Typically, Revenue will first obtain a Court judgment (stemming from the High Court, Circuit Courts and District Courts) against a recalcitrant taxpayer. Subsequently a warrant to enforce judgment may be lodged with the Sheriff (Revenue) against whose registers are recorded all such executable judgments. These can be valuable results in both understanding liabilities and uncovering real assets. |
| Receiver of Fines Searches | At present, all taxes, interest, and duties owed to the government are gathered through the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. From time to time, Revenue may delegate their powers to local sheriffs to execute certificates issued for enforcement. Again, Judgments (Debt/ Money) are not always registered in the Judgments Register. Hence the need to confirm on the Receiver’s registers. |
How might a solicitor request searches against the above?
Ellis & Ellis provides solicitors firms (but not individuals) access to our proprietary website at www.ellis.ie. While the bulk of the above search types can be turnaround instantly, a number of them involve manual intervention. Nonetheless, all search types may be requested concurrently.
In an ideal situation, the investigating solicitor would already have a strong understanding of the target individual’s financial standing and holdings. This greatly improves the quality of any result.
Furthermore, while many of the search types are merely conducted against the bearers of a name, other search types may require additional information in order to be conducted, i.e., dates of birth, known addresses, marital status, etc.
Use an established Law Search provider
As shown above, Ellis & Ellis retains extensive and in-depth knowledge of its sources, applying practical commercial strategies to help clients make the most of this information.
By combining an easy-to-use ordering platform at www.ellis.ie with over 130 years of specialist expertise and a superior after-sales experience, we offer our clients a top-tier searching service.
Additionally, Ellis & Ellis provides substantial Professional Indemnity Cover (€10 million for each and every case) for enhanced peace of mind.
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List of related resources:
- Judgment (Debt/Money) Searches
- Bankruptcy searches
- Insolvency Searches
- Folio Searches
- Company Searches
* While not assets, any outstanding debts or liabilities are also crucial for a full financial picture and alternatively such records can assist in identifying other potential real properties.
† Instructing parties may engage forensic accountants to trace hidden assets or fraudulent activity, issue subpoenas to access financial documents or compel individuals to provide relevant information, and/ or conduct interviews and depositions to obtain information about assets that may not be apparent through standard record searches.
(‡) Note: As these search types are conducted solely against matching names on these registers, great care will have to be taken with any ‘hits ‘as these may be wholly unrelated persons/ bearers of a name.