Forfeiture is a process in which the local or federal government can take or seize property of an owner if the owner himself or the property is being used for a criminal activity. For example, police arrests a criminal who is growing illegal weed on his property and in this case, the government has the right to seize the property without paying anything to the owner and may refuse to return it to the owner in particular cases.

Introduction and Brief Description of Notice of Forfeiture:

When a police department or local government finds out that a certain property is being or was being used in a criminal activity or if the property is declared as a crime scene, the government has the right to take the property away from the owner and seize it for as long as the case isn’t closed. When the government decides to take a certain property, they are legally obligated to inform the owner of the property about the situation and advice him for further steps. If the property is seized as crime scene, there are chances that the owner will get it back as soon the case is closed but if the law enforcement department finds out that the property was being used in a criminal activity, they can also forfeiture it which means the owner can’t get it back. The notice of forfeiture is sent to the owner in order to inform him that his property is seized and taken by the government.

Types of Properties that can be seized by the Government under Forfeiture:

House

Apartment

Commercial building

Shop

Showroom

Vehicle

Boat

Bank accounts

Net cash

Airplane

Business/company

Typical choices or options to win back the Forfeiture Property:

Defense as innocent owner:

If your property is forfeitures and you can prove that you are innocent and the property wasn’t involved in any criminal activity, you can defense your case and get your property and its ownership back with this point. Defense of unreasonable delay:

When government seizes a property, there is a specific time limit in which the prosecutor has to present the case and evidences against the property in the court. If the department is taking more than enough time to present the case, you can defend your case with this point. Defense of illegal seizure:

If you can prove that the department made a mistake by seizing your property and this process was illegal as you or your property wasn’t even close to the involvement in any criminal activity, you can defend your ownership rights with this point. Disproportionate defense:

This is a very rare case in which you present evidence in front of the judge that the property being seized by the government has the value way higher than the actual case and if you prove this point, you will have the opportunity to win your property back.

Here is a free Sample Notice of Forfeiture created using as PDF Format,

Here is download link for this Notice of Forfeiture,