Discovering Your Financial Accts.

After locating your real estate, the investigator will search for your cash. Discovering the existence and details concerning bank accounts and brokerage accounts appears more complex than tracing real estate records. Unlike real estate, a financial account is supposed to be a private matter. A banker is someone you should be able to trust with your money. By tradition, the relationship between a bank and a customer implies a level of discretion and confidentiality that can be breached only under extreme circumstances. Although no one expects that their account is secret, in the Swiss style, the common understanding is that in the absence of some type of inquiry from the government or compulsion from a court, the bank will not make your account information available to third parties.

Unfortunately, anyone with expectations of any degree of privacy with respect to a financial account will be dangerously disappointed. Bank and brokerage accounts records are now easily accessible to those who have learned the basic "tricks of the trade." For a modest fee, companies specializing in these services can be hired to perform comprehensive asset searches. A detailed report will list the location, account number, current balance, deposits, and withdrawals for every account that you own. A listing of every check you have written on the account—with the payee and amount—is included in the report. For stock brokerage accounts, a complete transaction history can be obtained with every purchase, sale, and current holding. Monthly credit card transactions and safe deposit boxes can be located if desired.