Setting Aside Insider Transfers in Debt Collection Cases
At the Boston law firm of Gannett & Associates, our experience with difficult asset recovery problems helps us recognize the signs of fraudulent insider transfers intended to defeat your right to payment. If you need to collect a debt or enforce a judgment against a debtor who may have been transferring assets to relatives, insiders or affiliates, contact an experienced collections attorney at Gannett & Associates for a free consultation.
Can a creditor reach assets in the hands of an insider transferee?
If the transfer of assets from a debtor to an insider — usually a relative, spouse, business partner, affiliated business entity, or successor entity — effectively leaves the debtor insolvent and unable to pay the claims of creditors, the transfer can be set aside under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act. In other words, the creditor can collect the transferred asset from the insider who now apparently owns it.
At Gannett & Associates, we have seen through many debt avoidance schemes and successfully recovered assets to meet the claims of judgment creditors. Although insider transfers can be complicated and trace through a long sequence of transactions between affiliated companies, here are some of the more common indicators of a transfer that a creditor may be able to recover:
- Debtor was insolvent at the time of the transfer or becomes insolvent as a result
- Transfer was made without sufficient consideration
- Transfer was supported by a fraudulent appraisal or asset valuation to make it seem like it was supported by consideration
- Transferee is a relative or spouse of an individual debtor
- Transferee is a subsidiary, parent or horizontal affiliate of a corporate debtor
- Nondisclosure or concealment of the transfer
- Business assets were transferred to another creditor, who transfers them back to an affiliate of the debtor
- Debtor retains possession or effective control of the assets after the transfer
- Timing of the transfer suggests a motivation to defeat a creditor’s collection efforts
We know how to identify, attack and set aside fraudulent insider and affiliate transactions in both Massachusetts civil judgment enforcement proceedings and in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Call (617) 367-0606 to discuss your case with a seasoned collections lawyer
Our practice has emphasized effective client service in difficult collections problems since 1989. To learn how you can benefit from our experience, contact Gannett & Associates in Boston.
