Hi all, love this site! Learn just enough to be dangerous… Anyways, I found some good land that I’m going to buy for recreational use, maybe put a cabin on someday. I’ve doing some reading about land trusts. I like this concept as I’d like to keep this property for my three kids to inherit someday and also the fact that the trust would conceal my personal ownership from any future creditors I might have the misfortune to have. Does anyone know if land trusts are legal and binding in Washington state? The attorneys around here don’t know what I’m talking about… Would you recommend that I do my own forms after more self education? Thanks to all who share their insight!
There is no privacy with trusts. Discovery will reveal anything a creditor needs to know and you will lose the suit if you lie about it and get caught. If you really want protection, then create an irrevocable trust with the kids as beneficiaries. That will protect it from your creditors and theirs.
Unless you plan to go to law school and practice real estate law, there is no self-education that will allow you to do it yourself in a competent fashion. Most of the information available on the Internet is just wrong.