privacy trusts, John Clark, Attorney
how it works
There are many ways to implement a California Privacy Trust. On a limited basis, I am here to help you determine what best suits your needs. I prepare all of the required trust documents and related agreements necessary to create, maintain and wind down the trust as well as deal with property held by the trust and various parties such as title companies and motor vehicle departments. The level of service you purchase determines how involved I am in the process. (Click Service Levels for more info.)
I take into consideration multiple factors:
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1.What will be the name of the trust? It should not include any personal or company names or words that would give away your identity. For maximum privacy, your trust can be named something random or even whimsical.
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2.What type of property will the trust hold (the “trust property”)? Bank accounts, membership interest in an LLC, corporate stock, real estate, vehicles, a contract such as a lease? It’s best for privacy and creditor protection not to hold multiple types of property in a single trust. For real property, ESPECIALLY commercial or rental property, consider putting the real estate into an LLC and the LLC ownership into the trust. For maximum privacy and protection, form multiple trusts if you need to hold multiple properties. CAUTION: PROPERTY THAT HAS BEEN OR WILL BE FINANCED OR REFINANCED WILL RARELY ALLOW FOR USE OF PRIVACY TECHNIQUES.
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3.Who will be the beneficiary of the trust? It can be one or more persons and LLCs. The beneficiary is the party who will control, manage and enjoy the use of trust property. For added protection, you may wish to make the beneficiary an LLC.
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4.Do you own this property already and wish to transfer it to a privacy trust, or are you looking to acquire new property into a privacy trust?
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5.What kinds of documentation will be required to achieve your purposes? Grant deeds? Purchase deeds? Car title and registration? Powers of Attorney? Formation of an LLC? Etc. We don’t prepare every type of document, but we work with you and, for example, your title company, to make sure your trust satisfies its purpose.
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6.What about bank loans? Insurance? etc. These issues can complicate privacy trusts. We have to evaluate such issues and work with you to resolve them on a case-by-case basis.
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7.Most importantly, who will act as the named trustee? This is the person or entity that will be the official owner of property. The trustee ONLY acts according to written instructions and has no rights to control, manage or use the trust property. CLICK HERE TO SEE THREE TYPES OF TRUSTEES
A fixed-fee minimum $500 privacy evaluation fee will be required for me to work with you personally on answering the above questions.