The trustee is the person who will sign documents on behalf of the trust.  The trustee has NO power except to deal with title to trust property as directed in writing. 

There are three types of trustees for Privacy Trusts:

PROFESSIONAL TRUSTEE

A licensed fiduciary or attorney holds legal and equitable title to your property until you instruct the trustee to transfer the trust property to you or a third party.  This involves both initial and recurring trustee fees. 

On a limited case-by-case basis, I offer my services as an attorney trustee.  Expect a minimum additional fee of $1,500 per year (or less  than a year if part of the strategy is for me to resign earlier than one year).   In addition to a fixed trustee fee, trustee services are provided at my normal hourly rate.  I prefer that you contract with an independent professional fiduciary.

PRIVATE TRUSTEE

You specify a trusted friend or associate to hold title to your property and to sign all documents related to ownership of the trust property.  It is legal (but not recommended) to use a family member.  Using a family member as trustee reduces or eliminate the privacy benefit (and may create family tensions).  How hard would it be for someone to figure out that the family member is related to you and holding your property?  In any case, a private trustee doesn’t involve paying any fees to me for trustee services.  I include a form for your trustee to resign.  It’s a good idea to have it notarized after documents title are executed, (and held in a safe place) in case you need to quickly “fire” your trustee later on.

TEMPORARY NOMINEE TRUSTEE

This is a one-time method of keeping your name out of public databases when acquiring real property, or titling and registering a vehicle.  After the temporary trustee signs ownership documents, such as deeds or car titles, the trustee resigns and a private trustee of your choosing takes over as a “successor trustee” (which could be you or a trusted friend or family member).   This service does not involve any recurring trustee fees.

In rare case I might be able to help you find a nominee trustee.  Your need for security must be clearly demonstrated as legitimate.  This can be very expensive in order to insure that all parties are comfortable with the risks, no laws or regulations are violated, and that all the appropriate paperwork is in place.

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