Is it worth suing? An asset search before you file.

Q: What does a pre-suit asset search look at?

Real property and its equity after every deed of trust; business interests and whether the company sued is the one that owns anything; secured creditors from the UCC index; existing judgments and tax liens; litigation history; vehicles, vessels and aircraft; employment, for garnishment; and for tort claims, the likely insurance carrier. Bank balances come only through process after judgment; the search tells counsel which bank to name.

Q: What makes a defendant judgment-proof in Washington?

Mostly exemptions: the homestead exemption up to the county's median sale price (about $940,000 in King County), protected retirement accounts, largely exempt wages, and personal property schedules. Also structure: LLC interests reached by charging order, property with no equity above senior liens, and defendants with nothing a writ attaches to. Whether an exemption applies is a lawyer's question; whether the asset exists and what it is worth is answerable before filing. A Washington judgment lasts ten years and can be extended once.

Q: Can you tell whether they have already started hiding assets?

Usually. Pre-suit transfers are recorded: a quitclaim to a spouse or trust, a new LLC taking title, a deed of trust to a relative, a business renamed in the same month as the demand letter. Transfers made to defeat a creditor may be unwound under Washington's voidable transactions act, and finding them before filing lets the transferee be named.

Q: What will the report say?

One of three things: collectible now, with the assets, equity and liens mapped; collectible with patience, where a wage, vesting schedule or inheritance makes a judgment worth holding; or not collectible, where the assets are exempt, encumbered or gone and the recommendation is to keep the fee.

Q: How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

A fixed fee quoted first, in days rather than weeks. The free records toolkit covers a small local claim; the search adds licensed databases, offline counties, other states and experienced judgment about what the record means.

Before you file

A judgment against a defendant who cannot pay is just paper.

Litigation is an investment, and the return turns on a question the complaint never answers: can the defendant pay? A collectability search answers it before the retainer, from the public record and the licensed databases. It also answers the question that comes after you win, which is where the money will be.

What does a pre-suit asset search look at?

Everything a judgment could reach, and everyone already ahead of you. Real property and the equity in it, which means the deed, every deed of trust against it and the assessor's value, since a house with two mortgages is not an asset. Business interests: the entities the defendant governs, what they own, and whether the company is the one you are suing or a shell beside it. Secured creditors, from the UCC index, because a lender with a blanket lien on the business gets paid before you do. Existing judgments and tax liens, which tell you both how many creditors are in line and how the defendant behaves when they lose. Litigation history, because a defendant who has been sued six times and paid nobody is telling you something. Vehicles, vessels and aircraft. Employment, which decides whether a wage garnishment is possible. For a tort claim, counsel can ask the carrier about coverage, and we can usually identify who the carrier is. What no search shows is a bank balance; that comes only through process after judgment, and the search tells you which bank to name.

What makes a defendant judgment-proof in Washington?

Mostly exemptions, which are generous here. The homestead exemption shields home equity up to the county's median sale price, about $940,000 in King County, so a paid-off house in Ballard may be out of reach. Retirement accounts and pensions are protected. Most of a paycheck is exempt from garnishment. Personal property has its own schedule of exemptions. Beyond the statutes, there is structure: assets held in an LLC are reached through a charging order rather than seized, property with senior liens has no equity to take, and a defendant who earns in cash and rents has nothing a writ attaches to. Whether an exemption applies to a particular asset is your lawyer's question. Whether the asset exists, what it is worth and who already has a claim on it is ours, and it is answerable before you file. A defendant can also be judgment-proof for now and not later: a graduate with no assets and a stock grant vesting in two years is a different case from a retiree, and a Washington judgment lasts ten years and can be extended once.

Can you tell whether they have already started hiding assets?

Usually. A defendant who sees a lawsuit coming moves things, and the moves are recorded: a quitclaim deed to a spouse or a trust, a new LLC that takes title to the truck, a deed of trust in favor of a relative, a business that changes its name and registered agent in the same month. The record dates each one, and the dates sit next to the date of the demand letter. Transfers made to defeat a creditor can be unwound under Washington's voidable transactions act, which is its own guide, here. Finding them before filing changes the complaint: the transferee becomes a defendant, and the question of collectability answers itself.

What will the report say?

One of three things. Collectible now: here are the assets, their likely equity, the liens ahead of you, and the order in which your lawyer would reach them after judgment, so the complaint can be drafted with the end in view. Collectible with patience: nothing to seize today, but a wage, a vesting schedule or an inheritance in sight, and a judgment that will be worth filing the abstract on and waiting. Not collectible: the assets are exempt, encumbered or gone, and we recommend you keep your fee. The third answer is the one people pay us to hear early, because it costs a fraction of a complaint. What follows a win is covered in collecting a judgment in Washington.

How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

A fixed fee, quoted before we start, and days rather than weeks. The free searches in the records toolkit will take a careful person a long way on their own, and for a small claim against a local defendant that may be all you need. We add the licensed databases, the counties whose records are not online, the other states, and the judgment of someone who has done this research for decades and learned to interpret what the record means. If the defendant is a company, a founder or an executive, the due diligence report covers the same ground in more depth.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Exemptions and the decision to sue are for your lawyer. Statutes cited are Washington's. Last verified October 2026.

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Thinking about filing?

Send us the defendant's name and the amount at stake. Within one business day we will tell you what the record already shows, what a full search would cost, and whether we think a judgment would be worth the paper. Fixed fee, quoted first.

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