Address Location or Legal Delivery – Answers

On this page you will find answers to frequently asked questions regarding subjects such as: locating residential addresses, locating a person whose traces have disappeared, legal delivery, quick and effective location of debtors who have disappeared, locating a partner avoiding alimony payments, locating assets for the purpose of confiscation, and more. 

If you have not found the answer to a question that you would like to ask, you can approach us and receive a professional response within a few hours.  Here is a list of frequently asked questions, which were answered by a private investigator from our agency:

17. Who can you locate? 

17. Will the person that you are searching for be aware that you are trying to locate him or her?

1. Usually no.  But keep in mind that private investigators operate by using many different methods and can sometimes be exposed.

17. Is it possible to locate a person who left Israel to an unknown destination?

1. A person can be located anywhere in the world. Take into consideration, however, that it is more costly to locate a person whose whereabouts and country of residence are unknown since this requires a larger search!

17. How can you be sure that the person you find is the same person that your clients want found?

1. We guarantee that all the information provided by our agency is 100 percent correct, unless we state otherwise.

17. How long does it take to locate a person?

1. We usually locate a person within 72 hours, at the most. On the other hand, the precise location of a problematic debtor takes a lot longer. We are prepared for urgent cases as well, where the location of a person within a few hours is necessary!

17. What happens if you are unable to locate a person?

1. We are successful in locating most of the people that we search for. Even “difficult” debtors and “lost causes”.  In those rare instances where we are not successful in locating a person, we do not charge any payment for our activity.

17. What happens after you have successfully located a person’s residential address?

1. We supply the client with a detailed written report containing the list of addresses that were checked, the current address of the located person, and any other helpful information.

17. What information is required in order to begin an investigation to locate a residential address?

1. In an ideal situation, the client provides us with the full details of the person he or she wants to locate.  This includes the first and last name of the person, date of birth, identity number, known residential addresses, places of work, known relatives, known spouses, up-to-date or old telephone numbers, and any other information. Even in cases were only part or most of the information is available, we can still get by.

17. It is advisable to approach a few investigation agencies in order to try to locate an address?

1. Definitely not. Since most investigation agencies don’t charge payment until they have successfully located an address, the temptation to do this is substantial.  However, what would happen if a few investigation agencies located a debtor on the same day? Would you have to pay them all? Besides, we refuse to accept address location cases that are simultaneously being handled by another investigation agency. This makes work difficult and can cause more harm than good.

17. Are all investigation agencies suitable for locating residential addresses?

1. Some investigation agencies that you approach will not consent to only investigating the location of an address. The truth is that investigation agencies are not eager to perform this kind of investigation because it provides very little profit. Most of the investigation agencies that consent to executing this kind of investigation for you are agencies that are well prepared to handle such cases, since they handle tens of locations every week.

17. Is it possible to approach the police and ask for a person’s address?

1. You can approach the police and ask for a person’s address, but it is very unlikely that they would give it to you. The police is not obligated to assist in these kinds of cases. However, if you approach the Ministry of the Interior and provide them with the identity number of any Israeli civilian and a fee payment, they can print out the latest known address of the person you are searching for as it appears in their database.

17. What needs to be done in order to begin an investigation in order to locate the address of a debtor?

1. You can contact us by e-mail or any other method, supply us with the information that you have, and we will get to work. You will most probably be able to receive an initial report regarding the progress of the investigation within 24 hours.

17. Can a person disappear without a trace? If so, how?

1. As of yet, we have not come across people who have (voluntarily) disappeared without a trace.  We handle, on a daily basis, cases to locate difficult debtors who owe millions of shekels and try to erase their tracks as much as possible. Even in difficult cases we locate the debtors, subject to the time limitations and resources invested in the location services. 

17. There are websites that offer to locate any person’s residential address. How do they do this?

1. To the best of my knowledge, there are no such websites operating in Israel. In the United States, for example, there are many websites that offer personal information about people. I have also come across, in the past, a website that offered to provide the address of any person in Israel. And, as I mentioned earlier, you can make an inquiry at the Ministry of the Interior and receive a person’s address according to their identity number. Beyond this, the use of “search” software is illegal in Israel.

17. How does an investigator try to locate a person operate? How are locations done?

1. Private investigators, or other investigators, use varying and strange methods. Every person adapts methods that work for him or her. Usually, investigations are done amongst neighbors at known addresses, family members, employers, etc. Today the internet can be used as well. A good investigator only needs a phone line and a computer with internet access. 

17. How can you be sure that you have located the right person?

1. Private detectives who deal with locating addresses know how to verify and crosscheck information in order to confirm that the right person has been located. We do not hand over partial information, or proclaim a successful address location before verifying the facts.

17. How many private investigators or investigation agencies deal with address locations and legal deliveries?

1. That’s a difficult question. It is my estimation that most investigation agencies have handled and continue to handle address locations and legal deliveries. Some more than others. In my opinion, it is impossible to tell a regular client that you are unwilling to assist him or her in locating an address or urgently delivering a legal document. Therefore the answer to this question is not explicit.

17. Are private investigators the only ones who deal with address locations and legal deliveries?

1. Unequivocally, no. Any person with the desire can quickly learn how to locate addresses or deliver legal documents. However, skilled private investigators can do this better because they know how to “talk” with people. I know that many messengers and students who wish to earn additional income deliver legal documents. There is no problem with this. 

17. Who usually tends to order address location services?

1. Most of our clients are lawyers dealing with financial investigation cases and debts. These addresses are necessary in order to deliver statements of claim, warnings, and legal subpoenas. We also provide address location services to communications companies, insurance companies, investigation agencies, companies, and private clients. The range of our clients is wide and extensive. 

17. What happens if the person supposed to receive a legal delivery either refuses to accept it or throws it away right in front of the deliverer? 

1. This person is considered to have received the delivery. The delivery person signs an affidavit describing the circumstances of the delivery. The regulations of the civil law rules state that even if a person is not at home or refuses to open his or her door, the documents can be taped to the house door.

17. What happens in a situation where a person received a delivery, but refuses to sign a confirmation of receipt?

1. There is no way to force a person to sign a confirmation receipt. The declaration of the person who made the delivery is sufficient to confirm the delivery.

17. How do you locate the addresses of difficult debtors, or debtors that other investigation agencies were unable to find? 

1. Well, we often are approached by law firms, authorities, or private clients who have already approached other private investigators or investigation agencies in order to help them locate debtors. Those other agencies or investigators tried their best, but were not able to locate the debtor. We start from the beginning. Our great experience in locating debtors over the years has led us to develop a special work method. We check all leads, investigate family members, neighbors, acquaintances, employers, and work colleagues. We don’t give up, and invest more effort in trying to locate difficult debtors. With that said, it is more expensive to locate a difficult debtor than to locate a regular person.

17. The lawyer representing me suggested that I order a private investigation to locate another person’s property. How can you assist me with this? 

1. You can order property location services or a financial investigation in order to locate property belonging to a debtor. The Yanir Levin Private Investigation Agency conducts several financial investigations for a variety of entities. Over the course of a financial investigation we locate most of the property of a debtor, in order to enable the commencement of legal proceedings against that person and return the debt.

17. How much does it cost to conduct a financial investigation and locate the property of a debtor?

1. The cost of a financial investigation may vary according to the complexity of the investigation and the complexity of the person whose property you are trying to locate. Usually, the depth of the investigation is determined in accordance with the amount of debt owed by the debtor. In some cases a person may owe 5000 shekels, and in other cases people or companies may owe millions of shekels. We advise our clients to conduct the most complex and in-depth private investigations possible, in accordance with the sum of the debt. The cost of a financial investigation begins at approximately 1600 shekels.

17. How do you conduct a financial investigation if the residential address of the debtor is not found? 

1. In almost every case, it is necessary to locate the residential address of the debtor before conducting financial investigations. It is very important to investigate the debtor undercover, and also to investigate his family, neighbors, and work colleagues. Observations of the debtor’s residential area should take place, and if necessary then surveillances as well. In rare cases, it is possible to conduct a financial investigation without locating a person. 

17. Is a person required to update his current address at the population registry of the Ministry of the Interior?

1. In theory, yes. The law obligates any person changing their residential address to update his records at the Ministry of the Interior. In practice, not everyone does this. Especially people who owe money or who are hiding from the law. These people change addresses without informing the authorities.

17. What happens in the event that you arrive at the address of a person and come across an underage person? Are you allowed to deliver legal documents to a minor, say, the son or daughter of the debtor? 

1. According to the law, legal documents should be delivered to people over the age of 18, or people who appear to be at least 18 years old and are first rate relatives of the person for whom the documents are intended.

17. I am holding checks in the sum of 30,000 shekels, which were not accepted by the bank. I received these checks for rent, and the tenant has disappeared. Can I file a complaint with the police and ask them to locate the debtor?

1. I wish. You can register a complaint, but ask the police to locate the debtor? You might make them laugh. Even though that person has legally broken the law, the police would have to double their staff and work around the clock in order to locate the address of every debtor. In 99% percent of these cases, the police will not do anything to help you locate the address of a debtor. At best they will give you the address that is registered in the police computers, which is usually the same address that appears in the Ministry of the Interior records.

17. I need to locate the last residential address of a person who died in the 1980s. Can you be of assistance? 

1. Yes.  In most cases the children or family members can be researched, their addresses or phone numbers can be located, and then the appropriate investigation can be performed (either undercover or not). This is a fairly common type of case.

17. How can I locate the residential address of a person who tends to harass me over the phone?

1. Over recent years, many investigation agencies have made regular use of special methods to locate telephone harassers. We have often been approached by people who receive strange phone calls, threats, harassments, and more. We use special advanced equipment in order to locate the harasser’s phone number. After that, it is easy to locate a residential address.