Investment property set up

[Namit Raisurana]

I have few properties in CA and I would like to set up a structure which provides me anonymity and reduced liability.

I have set up a WY LLC and various real estate land trust where each trust will hold title to the individual real esate and the LLC will be beneficiary for all these trusts. Since the properties are based in CA I will have to register the WY LLC in CA which will expose my ownership and thus I will have a member manager trust that will be the owner of the LLC.

My question is who should I make the trustee of the land trusts? If I make myself the trustee than I am losing the benefit of anonymity or am i? Or should I make my attorney the trustee and then have a resignation deed making me the successor?

Looking for suggestions from people who have done this kind of stuff before

[Katie Balatbat]

@Namit Raisurana

Depends on your preferences and situation of course, but seems as though you've set up a fairly complex structure with somewhat pricey ongoing maintenance costs.  It's very hard to remain anonymous in CA, and while a great goal, often comes at the cost of a very cumbersome structure to maintain, explain, and pay for in the meantime.  The Trustee of the trust is typically listed on title to real property, so while that may provide you some anonymity, you have to ask if you really want to track down that person to sign documents related to your real property?  It's putting a lot of faith and trust in a person that you may not know very well, and who you're not in regular contact with as to their life situation.

*This post does not create an attorney-client or CPA-client relationship.  The information contained in this post is not to be relied upon.  Readers are advised to seek professional advice.