Personal property is any physical property that can be moved. Basically, the opposite of real estate, which is property consisting of land and buildings, which cannot be moved. To give some examples, things such as jewelry, furniture, cars and any sort of vehicle are part of the personal property category.
As such, this means that they can be included as part of a personal property trust. But, why would you ever consider doing this in the first place?
The main benefit of personal property trusts is that they can help you keep your affairs and business private. Many things, such as car and boat ownership are part of a public record. In this case, if you set up a personal property trust and include things such as these, they trustee acts as the title holder of the property, but all is done for your benefit as the beneficiary of the trust.
However, this should be done carefully, as transferring ownership of the vehicle to a trust can have sales taxes imposed on by some states. Besides the sales tax, which may or may not happen, registration fees have to be considered. If these fees are a deal breaker, then only newly purchased vehicles should be placed into the trust. Learn more about forming a trust.
If your assets are held by a trust and not in your name, it works as a sort of smokescreen that protects you and your interests. For example, if a lawsuit is to be filed against you, and the lawyer does a background check on you to see the assets listed under your name, the likelihood of them coming for you is lowered if they find nothing filed under your name.
Cars and mobile homes can also be held under a trust. The DMV holds records that can be public information, and that could include your home address. If the trust you hold your vehicle’s title card in has an address, such as a business address or a PO Box, then your home address is off the public record and safely private. Learn about pet trusts.
Limited liability companies are also an area where personal property trusts can be applied. The members of a limited liability company are part of the public record, and are there accessible for everyone and anyone to see. If you form an LLC with your personal property trust as the member, and you as the beneficiary of the trust, then you reap all the benefits and stay in anonymity and privacy.
As you can see, there are many benefits that come when using personal property trusts to maintain privacy and anonymity. While some might be comfortable sharing all the previously mentioned details, some might be more comfortable with a little more privacy. Personal property trusts can help you achieve this privacy if that is what you want. Learn more here: https://www.landtrustalliance.org/