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Pillar #1 - Make Yourself Anonymous

Prevent lawsuits before they begin

Anonymity is achieved by holding assets inside of Trusts. This is because Trusts do not need to disclose their membership to the public.

There are many different types of Trusts inside your structure:

  • The Living Trust is part of your Estate Plan. It doesn’t make you anonymous, but it allows your heirs to bypass probate, which keeps them anonymous.
  • Each LLC is controlled by an Agent Trust, which is a revocable common law Trust that makes the LLC anonymous to the Secretary of State and avoids having your name listed as the Manager or Member.
  • Each property is controlled by a Land Trust, which makes the property anonymous on the land record level by listing a Nominee Trustee at the County or Town Recorder instead of using your own name. 
  • The Offshore Trust is designed to gain the last 1% of protection if in the event you end up with an activist judge and end up needing to get funds outside the jurisdiction of the USA.
  • Corporate Transparency Act: You will not lose your anonymity when you submit your Beneficial Owner Information to FinCen. This is an extension and formalization of the information the IRS already has.

Why Simple Privacy Tricks Don't Work

You may already use a P.O box instead of your personal address to provide anonymity.

Unfortunately, just getting your mail delivered to an anonymous address will not shield you from a disgruntled tenant or attorney looking to find your assets.

There are many websites (ex: the Secretary of State) and services (ex: Datatree.com) that will allow people to search for your name or address and find out key information and even signed documents related to your ownership.

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310 Mills Way APPRAISED VALUE (Yedavalli)

How To Hold Property Anonymously 

LAND TRUSTS

A Land Trust is a revocable, common-law Trust that allows you to hold land anonymously at the Country Clerk.

  • If they search for your name, the asset will not be listed.
  • If they search for the property address, it will show the owner as "123 Main Street Trust" and they will not be able to see the members of the trust.

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Not all States have a Land Trust statute specifically, however, all States allow the ownership of property by a revocable, common-law Trust which is what we use under the name “Land Trust.”

We generally create “Land Trusts” in Texas (or Delaware) as these states have informal requirements for signing the Trust, so you can do this electronically instead of in front of a notary.

NOMINEE TRUSTEE

Won't people know I own the property if they see Scott Smith or Royal Legal as the Nominee Trustee?

No, because you actually aren't even the owner anymore. Your LLC and Trust now own the property. So, from a litigation standpoint this actually isn't 100% obvious and if they guess you are the owner and sue you personally, they will end up wasting $25,000 on a litigation process. This is why it's an effective deterrent.

How do I know that if I allow you to be the nominee trustee that you won’t run off and sell my properties?

I appreciate you asking that question. The fact is that we only serve as the nominee trustee when completing the property transfer into your holding company. By definition, this is a temporary role that we play, specifically for the purpose of keeping your name off public record. As soon as the deed is recorded at the county level, trusteeship reverts back to you and you maintain complete control of your property.

What happens if you no longer offer Nominee Trustee service or go out of business?

Our Nominee Trustee could remain on your recorded Deed for as long as you own the property. It would not matter if the Nominee Trustee was deceased or not available, it would not alter the Deed or record title. As a client, you are provided with all the documentation to show that you are the successor Trustee. If you sell the property, you would have to go on record as the successor Trustee when you transfer to the new Deed. This would give up some anonymity but is less important when you are selling property. Other firms offer Nominee Trustee, but typically at a much higher rate.

 

How To Own Companies Anonymously

AGENT TRUSTS

An Agent Trust is a revocable, common-law Trust that makes the LLC anonymous to the Secretary of State and avoids having your name listed as the Manager or Member.

You'll see that Land Trusts are what hold your Deeds whereas Agent Trusts (or Anonymous Trusts) are what manage your LLC instead of an individual person. This allows you to mask your ownership.

asset protection

We generally create “Agent Trusts” in Texas (or Delaware) as these states have informal requirements for signing the Trust, so you can do this electronically instead of in front of a notary.