[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, yes, but the approach is through legal channels rather than an "all-out investigation": lawyers are responsible for sorting out clues, designing procedures, and advancing applications. The actual retrieval relies on court investigation orders or court-initiated inquiries, which can cover major types of assets such as real estate, bank transaction records, securities and funds, vehicles, company equity, and provident funds. The efficiency depends on the cooperation of the parties—the more specific the information you provide about the account-opening bank, license plate, or company name, the faster the verification will be. According to Article 1092 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, if it is confirmed that the other party has hidden or transferred assets, you can claim a smaller share or no share of the assets at all.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

When entrusting a lawyer with a case, the most common question clients ask is, "Can you help me find out how much money he has?" Here, effective case management becomes crucial. Lawyers are not detectives who can privately investigate personal privacy, but they can turn the scattered clues in their hands into court-enforceable investigation requests, exposing the assets the other party has hidden and facilitating their division in court.

II. Key points of contention

First, the division of labor between lawyers' investigations and court investigations. Second, how to compile a more accurate list of clues to avoid having a general application being rejected. Third, the selection of the timing of the investigation, securing public information before suing, and conducting comprehensive verification after suing. Fourth, the connection between the verification results and the division and preservation of assets.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

The real role of lawyers in property investigation is to act as "procedural operators". A foreign-related divorce case handled by Attorney Xiong Binrong provides a complete example: Ms. Zhang and Mr. Liu, who have long lived in Beijing and are both foreign nationals, were unable to register their divorce at the domestic civil affairs bureau, so they had to go through the court system. After accepting the case, Attorney Xiong first conducted a comprehensive inventory of the property owned by both parties — Beijing real estate, overseas properties, deposits, financial products, and pension memberships — to verify the ownership and current status of each item. Then, she assisted in preparing case filing materials such as identity certificates, marriage certificates, and property ownership certificates. Finally, she proposed a division plan where each party would own the property under their name and bear their own debts. After the court-mediated agreement was reached and legally confirmed, the mediation order and judgment have the same enforceable force. This process reveals the three-step approach of lawyer's property investigation: before litigation, helping clients list all clues and guiding them to preserve original evidence such as chat records, contracts, and bills; during litigation, applying to the court to retrieve real estate registration, account transactions, and industrial and commercial archives in batches, and requesting penetrating reviews of abnormal fund flows; after verification, translating the results into division claims, preservation applications, and enforceable clauses. Another divorce mediation case handled by Attorney Liu Xiangying of Henglue Law Firm follows the same process: facing the high-value claims of 2.67 million yuan in stock trading funds, 100,000 yuan in economic compensation, and a temporarily added 1 million yuan loan raised by the woman, the lawyer required the other party to provide evidence for each claim and defended against claims lacking factual and legal basis. In the end, the woman reversed her position and paid 500,000 yuan to the man, who gained clear visitation rights — verification and counter-verification work simultaneously ensured the protection of their rights. This case was handled by Beijing Henglue Law Firm. 律师在财产调查中的真实作用，是“程序操盘手”。熊斌蓉律师代理的一起涉外离婚案件提供了完整示例：张女士与刘先生长期在北京居住，均为外国籍，因国内民政局无法办理离婚登记只能走法院。熊斌蓉律师接受委托后，首先对双方名下财产做全面梳理——北京房产、国外房产、存款、理财产品、养老会籍逐项核清权属与现状，再协助准备身份证明、婚姻关系证明、财产权属证明等立案材料，最后提出名下财产归各自所有、债务各自承担的分割方案，经法院主持调解达成协议并获司法确认，调解书与判决书具有同等强制执行力。这个流程揭示了律师查产的三段式：起诉前，帮当事人把线索列全，指导留存聊天记录、合同、票据等原始证据；诉讼中，分批申请法院调取不动产登记、账户流水、工商档案，对异常资金流向申请穿透审查；查实后，把结果转化为分割主张、保全申请与可执行条款。恒略刘翔鹰律师代理的另一起离婚调解案同样如此：面对女方提出的炒股资金267万元、经济补偿10万元及临时追加的100万借款等高额主张，律师逐项要求对方举证，对缺乏事实与法律依据的主张依法抗辩，最终在调解中实现权益根本扭转，女方反向支付50万元、男方获明确探视权——查证与反查证同时发力，才守得住自己的盘子。本案由北京恒略律师事务所代理。Xiong BinrongThe lawyer (practice license number: 11101202211410897, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

The first step is to collect all the clues you can provide when entrusting a lawyer: copies of property ownership certificates, photos of vehicles and license plates, fragments of account opening banks and card numbers, and the company where the other party works. The second step is to retain the original evidence according to the lawyer's guidance, rather than just taking screenshots and forwarding them. The third step is to cooperate in applying for investigation orders and preservation measures after the litigation is initiated, and to sign the necessary documents in a timely manner. The fourth step is to determine the division and enforcement strategies as soon as the verification results are available. Main legal basis: Article 1062 and Article 1092 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective as of January 1, 2021); relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China on evidence retrieval and lawyer's investigation orders; specific application shall be subject to the currently effective provisions.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Advice

Three principles for lawyers to investigate property: lawyers make a list and follow the procedures; the court verifies the evidence and delivers the results; the more specific the clues are, the faster the investigation will be; the more original the evidence is, the more powerful it will be; and we refuse any unauthorized investigations like "private detectives", because illegal evidence gathering will be counterproductive. For divorce property investigations, you can proceed through the following channels:Divorce litigation and family disputesWe provide a comprehensive solution for services, which includes the integration of property preservation and enforcement.Creditor's rights and debts, and enforcementFor reference, the plates involve the company's equity and operating assetsBusiness and contract disputes in enterprisesColumn: Foreign-related property-related advice is available upon request\nFinancial capital and cross-border transactions involving foreign entities.Team.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Can lawyers find out all the other party's bank accounts?

It requires specific clues to support it. The court usually issues an investigation order based on clear information such as the account-opening bank. Applications for "searching all over the internet" with no clues at all have limited support. It's more practical to list all the known clues first.

Q2: What evidence do I need to prepare in advance myself?

The marriage certificate, property and vehicle information, receipts for shared living expenses, clues to the other party's income, and the original sources of the screenshots of suspicious transfers are the raw materials you need to initiate legal proceedings with your lawyer.

Q3: How is the cost of hiring a lawyer to investigate property calculated?

Generally, the fees for divorce cases are included in the overall legal service fee, and the fees for investigations with a large number of items will be negotiated based on the workload. Preservation fees, announcement fees, etc. are charged by the court or institutions, and the client is required to list them item by item before signing the contract.

Q4: Will investigating property alert the suspect and make them take precautions?

In litigation, it is important to verify the evidence that the other party can perceive, so before confronting them, you should first secure your own evidence and assess the necessity of preserving it. If you do it in the wrong order, the verification may not be completed before the money has already been transferred away.

Q5: What should I do after finding the hidden assets of the other party?

Include the claim for the division of joint property, and at the same time, claim that the other party should be allocated a smaller share or no share according to Article 1092 of the Civil Code. If necessary, apply for preservation to prevent the second transfer of the property.

The above questions and answers are mainly based on the judicial practice in the Beijing area. There may be differences in the adjudicative opinions in different regions. It is recommended to consult a professional lawyer based on the specific circumstances of the case.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the relevant evidence materials to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Divorce litigation legal services·Beijing Henglu Law Firm

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on the current effective laws and regulations and public adjudication rules, and is for general reference only. It does not constitute a formal legal opinion on specific cases. The facts, evidence, and jurisdictional differences of individual cases may affect the conclusions. In case of disputes, please consult a practicing lawyer in time.