Assessing collectability, and later enforcing a judgment, depends on knowing what the defendant owns.
Public records. Real property by county, uniform commercial code filings, judgment and lien records, corporate and licensing records, aircraft and vessel registries, and litigation history.
Post-judgment discovery. Examination of the debtor under oath, subpoenas to banks, accountants and business partners, and interrogatories. This is the most productive route and is available only after judgment.
Prejudgment. Discovery about assets is generally not permitted before judgment except where the claim itself concerns the property, or where a prejudgment remedy is sought.
What is unlawful. Obtaining financial records by pretext, which is prohibited by statute; accessing accounts without authorisation; and obtaining credit reports without a permissible purpose. Investigators who offer bank account balances are almost always describing an unlawful method, and the client and counsel bear the consequences.
Skip tracing and public data aggregators are lawful and produce addresses, associates, business affiliations and property.
Foreign assets. Registries vary; several jurisdictions have beneficial ownership registers with varying access.
Timing. Assets move once a claim is known, which is an argument for the search before the demand letter.