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Satisfied Customer |
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...There are some great guys promoting
Options, Trusts, Agreement for Deed and
the whole gambit, but your documentation
is great! The video tapes are worth the
price of the
"whole enchilada" alone...
My mother turned 80 a couple of
months ago and was outwardly concerned
with my growing real estate portfolio.
My parents had a survivorship deed and I
prepared the Affidavit putting the deed
into her name solely and had her sign a
land trustee deed at the same time.
I had her hold onto the land trust deed
until she had the opportunity to view
your video... hearing and watching your
presentation convinced her we were doing
the right thing.
The video tape gave her the
opportunity to watch and re-watch until
she had a clearer understanding of the
purposes and benefits of a land trust.
She grew up during the depression and
has a completely different perspective
on debt and home ownership than we may
have... anyway, she is comfortable now
and we are shielding her assets from
Medicaid and should avoid costly
probate.
Best Regards,
Bob Hughes
Columbus, OH
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You know, that’s what I used to say. I had no idea
all the benefits trusts offered. I felt it was too
complicated of a subject and that I’d get by without
them. That was in the early 80’s before I had been
sued by one of my “alien beings from another planet”
occupying my property. After I found out how easy it
was for someone to stress me out, waste my time,
cost me money and undue heart palpitations, I
decided I might need to learn more about what the
big deal about trusts was. So I set out to find out
everything I could about the subject. I traveled
around the country to learn what any guru I could
find had to say about it. I then set out about doing
research on laws in my state. (Later I expanded that
to learning about all the states). I then tried to
find an attorney who could fill me in and provide
the documents. Big surprise! I couldn’t find anyone,
ANYONE, who had a clue. Of course, an attorney
typically doesn’t want to admit it when they don’t
know something, so they would ask questions like
“why would you do that?” Some would ask why I didn’t
use a limited Partnership. This was before the day
of the LLC (Limited Liability Company), so they
wouldn’t ask about that. By that time I was
absolutely sold on the concept of holding property
in Trust and couldn’t understand why anyone,
especially trained professionals, didn’t think they
were the greatest thing since that white stuff
between OREO cookies!
So, I would stutter a bit, get a little
embarrassed, shut up and move my head in an
affirmative action, making them think I agreed with
them. I kept asking questions and asking but in the
meantime, I started a list of why I felt trusts were
“it”. Let me share it with you:
1. Privacy of ownership. When I got sued,
I realized I was just a sitting duck, just waiting
to get picked off. Anyone, unbeknownst to me, could
go to the courthouse any time it was open, put my
name in the computer or look it up on a book, and
find out about every piece of property I owned! Now
if I owned stocks, bonds, mutual funds, Certificates
of deposits, etc., they couldn’t do that…but they
could just because I invested in Real Estate. What a
downer. But with Trusts, and more specifically Land
Trusts, I could enjoy the same privacy as the others
because I could choose any name I could think of to
name my trust. Then, once I had titled my property
in trust, if anyone went down and typed my name into
the computer, nothing would pop up. I would look
like a pauper…penniless, in fact. How juicy of a
duck would I look like then? Probably an attorney
thinking of suing me might get a little discouraged
if he did a preliminary search and could not readily
find accessible assets.
2. Division of Assets. I realized if I had a
corporation and I put all my eggs in one basket -
the corporation- and then someone sued it, all of
the eggs would be exposed to that lawsuit. WOW! All
my work could be snatched because an “alien being”
slipped and fell (on purpose?) on the corporation’s
property. Of course, it would be the corporation’s
fault that the person slipped and fell in the first
place. But I learned that with a few documents I
could actually own each property in a separate name.
So if anyone “slipped” at the Elm Street house, it
wouldn’t expose my Maple Street house to the lawsuit
(or the judgment).
3. Estate Planning. Overlooked by most
“gurus”, this should actually be at the top of the
list. If you are like me, you despise even thinking
about “estate planning’. BORING! “That’s for when
I’m rich” or “I’m too busy thinking about making
money” or “I’d rather do something - anything- else
other than that.” I’ve said all that and yeah, I
understand. But I have found with Land Trusts that I
could choose my “beneficiary” (the one or more
persons who would inherit) at the time I bought (or
transferred) the property. No need to pile up a big
estate and then pay someone thousands of dollars to
fix my mess, instead I could plan my estate as I go.
This also provides peace of mind…we don’t know what
each day brings and each day, no matter what
happens, I have provided for the future of my
family. I have left my affairs more or less in order
where my absence would not produce panic or distress
because I may or may not have left a will to be
probated.
4. Passing Your Assets to Your Heirs. I don’t
know if you’ve ever had this happen to you, but I’m
sure you’ve heard of it. Mom and Dad are dead,
leaving everything to the three kids. One kid
doesn’t need the money and doesn’t want to sell. One
could use some money, but wouldn’t mind keeping the
asset(s). The other one “married” a guy with an
advanced degree in beach combing, who can’t wait to
get the money. Squabbles ensure. Upset lasts long
past the sale and no one really appreciates all Mom
and Dad’s hard work. With a Land Trust, you could
give the beneficial interest of Elm Street to Bobby,
the beneficial interest of Maple Street to Sue, and
the third house to Goldie. When the surviving spouse
dies, the assets pass and each can do whatever they
want with their inheritance - sell, it, keep it,
mortgage it, or live in it. Each asset then becomes
an individual inheritance without the other kids’
being involved in it. Everybody wins. And the family
ties are not broken by controversy.
I actually came up with a list of eight things then,
now my list is twenty or so reasons why Land Trusts
make so much sense. Then there’s the Personal
Property Trust. This is for the rest of what you
own. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, Bank accounts,
certificates of deposits, Seadoos, mobile homes,
mortgages, motor homes, cars (real liability),
boats, motorcycles etc. can be set up like Land
Trusts and further segregate your exposed assets. In
addition, Personal Property Trusts can direct who
each of your individual assets goes to by separating
each asset into its own Personal Property Trust.
5. Probate Avoidance. Attorneys might not
like trusts for another reason. When someone dies
with or without a will, the estate must go through a
court process called probate. The judge decides who
gets what after the process, which can take a while.
Marilyn Monroe’s estate is still being settled.
Howard Hughes’s estate hasn’t been settled yet.
Trusts don’t go through probate! The trustee
actually passed to the successor beneficiary (ies)
at the death of the primary beneficiary (mom or
dad). No long, drawn out process. You get it right
now!
The benefits are many; the hassles are few. Create
the paperwork at the time you acquire the asset (or
now for the ones you already own). The paperwork is
critical. It’s not just a piece of paper. The words
on the paper matter. You need carefully crafted
documents designed to provide all the benefits I
mentioned and a whole lot more.
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