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Keeping Your Home Ownership Private

In today’s digital age, privacy is a commodity that’s increasingly hard to come by. With just a few clicks, almost anyone can access a wealth of information about you, including the ownership of your home. Public tax records, accessible to anyone who knows where to look, list the names of property owners for all to see. However, there’s a legal tool that can help protect your privacy in this regard: a Living Trust.

The Public Nature of Property Records

Property records, including deeds and tax information, are public records in most jurisdictions. This means that anyone can access these records, often online, and see who owns a particular property. While this transparency is essential for various legal and financial transactions, it also means that your ownership of a property is not private.

The Privacy Challenge

The lack of privacy in property ownership can be a concern for several reasons:

  • Personal Security: High-profile individuals or those with security concerns may not want their home addresses easily accessible.
  • Financial Privacy: Investors or individuals with multiple properties might prefer to keep their holdings private.
  • Estate Planning: Some individuals may wish to keep their estate plans confidential to avoid potential conflicts or challenges.

How a Living Trust Can Help

A Living Trust is a legal arrangement where a trustee holds the title to a property for the benefit of a beneficiary. Here’s how it can protect your privacy:

  • Anonymity: When a property is held in a Living Trust, the trust’s name, not the individual’s, appears on public records. This means your name is not directly associated with the property in public databases.
  • Flexibility: You can name the trust anything you like, further distancing your personal identity from the property.
  • Control: Despite the property being in the trust’s name, you maintain control over it as the trustee and can make decisions regarding the property as you see fit.

Setting Up a Living Trust

Setting up a Living Trust involves drafting a trust agreement, which outlines the terms of the trust, and transferring the title of your property to the trust. GetDynasty provides free Living Trust creation and offers services to help you transfer your deed into the Trust.

Protect yourself

In a world where privacy is increasingly scarce, a Living Trust offers a valuable tool for keeping your home ownership private. By removing your name from public tax records and providing a layer of anonymity, a Living Trust can help protect your privacy while still allowing you to maintain control over your property. If privacy is a priority for you, consider speaking with an estate planning attorney to explore the benefits of a Living Trust for your situation.

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What is a Trust?

A Living Trust is a financial tool that lets you plan, organize, and protect your life. It’s a personal entity that allows you to add assets and plan out your inheritance. Eliminating legal battles, cost, and time spent by your loved ones. 

Think of it like a personal LLC that you put everything you own in. Except it doesn’t protect you from liability like an LLC does, it protects you from probate and conservatorship. 

Probate is the complicated court process (12-18 months) where a judge decides what happens to your assets after you die, become incapacitated, or are “deemed” incapable. Creating a living trust allows your assets to completely circumvent probate and immediately transfer to your loved ones. 

In addition to being able to name heirs (your beneficiaries), a Trust also allows you to assign someone to manage it (your successor trustee). Instead of going through probate, your Successor Trustee takes control of the Trust, handles your affairs, and distributes your assets according to your instructions. The person you select as Successor Trustee should be your most trusted person. Like a best friend or closest family member.

At Dynasty, we believe everyone should have a Living Trust. If you have children, assets, or plan to acquire assets in the future, you should create a Trust. That way when you buy your next home, open a bank or brokerage account, get startup shares, etc. – you can immediately title them in your trust.