Hidden Asset Searches in Divorce and Family Cases: OSINT for Counsel
A hidden assets in divorce investigation, run for family lawyers, tests a spouse's financial disclosure against what public records show: companies, property, business activity and lifestyle. We take instructions only through the client's lawyers, use lawful public sources only, and never locate, watch or contact anyone.
- Instructed by counsel only
- Public records, no surveillance
- Tests disclosure, does not replace it
- We do not locate people
A hidden assets in divorce investigation compares a spouse's sworn financial disclosure with public records: company registers, property and charge records, business and trading activity, and public lifestyle evidence. Differences become questions for the court process. OSINT-S works only for the client's lawyers, uses lawful public sources, and does not track, locate, contact or access the accounts or devices of either spouse.
Who This Service Is For, and Who It Is Not For
Family lawyers acting in financial proceedings. We do not take instructions directly from a spouse or partner.
We accept this work only from a solicitor, attorney or barrister acting in divorce, separation or other family financial proceedings, and only where the purpose is to test financial disclosure. The lawyer confirms the proceedings, the purpose and that the results will be used within the case. If you are a spouse looking for help, the first step is a family lawyer; they can decide whether a search like this is proportionate.
We decline the work if the request involves finding where someone lives or is staying, watching their movements or contacts, a child's whereabouts, or a person who is protected by a court order or has fled abuse. Locating people is not part of this service, and our reports leave out residential addresses unless counsel confirms the address is already known to both parties and relevant to a property issue.
Financial Disclosure Is the Court's Tool; OSINT Tests It
The duty to disclose sits with each party and is enforced by the court. Public-record research shows where a disclosure looks incomplete.
In England and Wales, each party completes Form E, which states that "you have a duty to the court to give a full, frank and clear disclosure" of financial circumstances, warns that incomplete disclosure may lead to any order being set aside, and is verified by a statement of truth that can lead to contempt proceedings if false (Form E). US states have their own financial affidavits and discovery rules, set by state law and court.
That framework does the heavy lifting. An investigator cannot produce a bank statement and should not try. What public records can do is show that a party holds a directorship they did not mention, that a property was transferred to a relative shortly before the petition, or that a business described as failing is winning contracts. Counsel then uses the court's tools: questionnaires, requests for documents, production orders or third-party disclosure.
What a Lawful OSINT Divorce Asset Search Can Show
Recorded interests and public activity: companies, property, registrable assets, business income signals and lifestyle evidence, each tied to a source.
| Area | What public records can show | Typical disclosure question |
|---|---|---|
| Companies | Directorships, shareholdings and PSC entries, current and resigned, in each relevant country | Interests left out, or resigned just before proceedings |
| Property | Title, charges and transfer dates, including property held through companies | Transfers to relatives or new entities around separation |
| Business activity | Tenders, contracts, trade listings, hiring, reviews, new trading names | Income stated as falling while the business visibly grows |
| Registrable assets | Aircraft, vessels and similar assets on registers that are lawfully searchable | Assets not listed or held by a company the party controls |
| Lifestyle evidence | Public posts, media and event records, captured with dates | Spending that does not fit the declared means |
Company holdings often need a beneficial ownership investigation to show who stands behind a structure, and property questions may call for a deeper real estate and property search.
What We Never Do, and Why It Would Hurt the Case
No access to a spouse's accounts, email, devices or mail, no trackers, no surveillance, no pretexting. These are unlawful and can damage the client's case.
Spouses sometimes assume that shared homes or computers make the other's documents fair game. In England and Wales, the Court of Appeal in Imerman v Tchenguiz held that each spouse has separate rights of confidence, that taking and copying the other's confidential material is a breach of confidence, and that the court can order it returned and exclude unlawfully obtained evidence (Law Society). In the US, using electronic communications to place a person under surveillance with intent to harass or intimidate can be federal stalking (18 U.S.C. §2261A), and state laws add more.
So we do not log into accounts, read email or messages, copy devices, place trackers, follow anyone, contact the spouse or their family, pose as someone else, or buy leaked data. Personal data is limited to what the disclosure question needs, under the GDPR and UK GDPR where they apply (GDPR).
How a Counsel-Led OSINT Asset Search Runs
Counsel confirms the purpose and what was disclosed; we search, compare and report to counsel only.
- Counsel confirms the instructionThe proceedings, the purpose of testing disclosure, any protective orders and confirmation that locating anyone is outside scope. We decline if any of these raise concern.
- Agree the comparison baselineCounsel shares the relevant parts of the disclosure, so the search targets omissions rather than the whole of a person's life.
- Search public recordsCompany, property and registrable-asset records, courts, business activity and public lifestyle evidence, with dates.
- Compare and gradeEach finding set against the disclosure: consistent, not mentioned or contradicted, with the strength of the link stated.
- Senior review, report to counselA senior analyst checks the findings, and the report goes to counsel only, for use within the proceedings.
What Counsel Receives and When
A report that sets each finding against the disclosure, with sources and suggested questions, from 10 business days.
The report lists findings in the order counsel will use them: interests not disclosed, transfers around separation, and income or lifestyle signals that do not fit the figures given, each with its record and capture date. It suggests the questions or document requests each finding supports. A focused search in one or two countries takes from 10 business days; work across several countries or company layers takes up to about a month. Urgent delivery before a hearing costs 50% more, and if we miss the agreed date, the fee goes down. Work is confidential and can sit under an NDA. Family practitioners can read more about how we support firms on our law firms page, and other litigation work sits within our OSINT services for legal teams.
For Family Lawyers: Test the Disclosure
Counsel only: send the proceedings, the purpose and the disclosure points in doubt. We reply with a scope, a timeline and a fixed quote.
Divorce Asset Search OSINT FAQ
I'm a family solicitor and my client believes her husband left a company stake out of his Form E — can a hidden assets in divorce investigation check that before the first appointment?
Yes. We search company and ownership registers in the countries that matter for directorships, shareholdings and PSC entries, current and recently resigned, and compare them with the disclosure you share. Each finding comes with its record and date, so you can raise it in the questionnaire. A focused search takes from 10 business days, and we report to you, not to your client.
I'm going through a divorce and think my wife is hiding money — can I hire you directly to look into her finances and find out where she's living now?
No. We take this work only through a family lawyer acting in the proceedings, and we never locate a person or track where anyone lives. A lawyer can tell you what disclosure your spouse must give and whether a public-record search would add anything. If they think it would, they can instruct us, and the results go to them for use in the case.
My client's husband says his business is barely surviving, but we see him posting photos from new properties — can your search show whether the business and lifestyle match what he disclosed?
We can look at the business's public footprint, such as tenders, contracts, hiring, trade listings, reviews and new trading names, and at property records and public posts, all captured with dates. The report sets each against the disclosed figures. It cannot prove his income, but it can show counsel where the disclosure looks inconsistent and which documents to request.
My client copied her husband's emails from the family laptop showing offshore accounts — can you use those to trace the assets for us?
No. In England and Wales, taking a spouse's confidential documents can be a breach of confidence, and the court may order them returned and exclude them; elsewhere it can also be a crime. We will not use or work from that material. Your route is the court's disclosure process, and our public-record research can support a specific request.
We act for a client in a US divorce where the other side has a holding company in another state — can you identify property and companies held through it without contacting anyone?
Yes. We trace the holding company through state filings, ownership records, property and charge records and court filings, and look for property, vehicles registered to the company, vessels or aircraft linked to it. We never contact the other party, their family or employees. Where state records stop, we note what discovery or subpoenas would need to cover.
Our firm wants to understand your limits before we instruct you — are there situations where you would refuse a divorce asset search even when a lawyer asks for it?
Yes. We refuse if the real aim appears to be finding where someone lives, monitoring their movements or contacts, locating a child, or pressuring a person rather than testing disclosure. We also decline where a protective order is in place or there are signs of domestic abuse. Counsel confirms these points in writing before work begins.
Sources and Notes
- HM Courts & Tribunals Service: Form E financial statement
- The Law Society: Imerman, disclosure and self-help in financial proceedings
- 18 U.S.C. §2261A: stalking (Cornell LII)
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR)
Sources checked 8 October 2026. Figures about third-party firms and tools are as published by them or by the cited source on that date.