If I Create A Land Trust Can I Get Out Of It At A Later Time?

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If I were to put my house in a land trust, am I able to get out of it in a couple of years or is it permanent?
If I can get out of it, are there any penalties? Do some states allow it and others not?

Comments(11)

  • LeaseOptionKing22nd November, 2004

    Land Trusts are not my forte', but I do know that a Trust is penetrable in court in LA and TN.
    [addsig]

  • DerrickAli22nd November, 2004

    RECO:

    Nice to meet you!

    Answer is YES you can get out of it WHENEVER you choose or set it up to Terminate.

    There are two(2) types of living trust (read: landtrust)

    REVOCABLE (controllable)

    and

    irrevocable (no control)

    Watchout for just using any ole document available over the Net... make certain that the Land Trust is properly prepared and not some store-bought boilerplate one.

    Also request the Atty. (or legal forms preparer) you choose to draft the trust as a BENEFICIARY-Directed Trust agreement.

    That insures that the TRUSTEE Works for and at the direction of the Beneficiary(s) and NOT the other way around.


    I Hope this Helps!

    Derrick Ali :-D

  • JohnMerchant22nd November, 2004

    D. Ali is right.

    You defnitely want the right and ability to change your trust while you're living and competent, so it's revocable during your life...and you only want it irrevocable after your demise.

  • JohnMerchant23rd November, 2004

    Looks like you never got a direct answer to your question: Yes, if a trust is created as a REVOCABLE trust, then the grantor/trustor can revoke if and when he wants.

    If a property is deeded to your trust, the trust can then deed it to anybody else the trustee wants, whenever he/she wants, provided it's within the powers granted to the trustee by the trust agreement.

  • RECO24th November, 2004

    Thank you for your feedback! I have another question:
    What is the average price for setting up a land trust? OR is there one?

  • DerrickAli27th November, 2004

    $10-$50 for Boilerplates...

    You can expect to pay around $300 to $2500 or more depending on the complexity and Atty or Legal Prep. Serv. you choose.

  • ray_higdon27th November, 2004

    As the land trust agreement is not public record, you can change the beneficiary without any local county interaction. I agree with Derrick that you want to ensure the trustee has no power without written consent from the beneficiary.

    I would read books/articles by Mark Warda and William Bronchick on land trusts before moving forward. Once you have an agreement, you can file the warranty deed yourself.

    HTH
    [addsig]

  • ceinvests27th November, 2004

    So a land trust is just another name for a living trust that is used for estate planning? Is that what I am reading here?
    Does anybody know if one trust can handle properties in multiple states? What if you move around from state to state; Any complexities there?

  • DerrickAli28th November, 2004

    CE invests:

    More Properly the Living trust is termed a:
    Title-holding Trust.

    And YES One Trust can Own Several Properties(Multi-State, etc.)

  • joefm263rd December, 2004

    Ray, I thought you did have to file something when you change benficiaries and that changing beneficiaries was a taxable event. Otherwise I could could get a seller to set up a land trust with us both as beneficiaries, "sell" the house to someone else and just assign them the beneficial intrest to them. Am I missing something?>
    [addsig]

  • ray_higdon3rd December, 2004

    Changing beneficiaries is not public record, changing trustees is. Soo, if you had something with you as the benef. and a trustee, if you wanted the buyer to use the same trustee, you could change the benef. without changing the trustee. There are a few articles regarding this out there by William Bronchick.
    [addsig]

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