AN INTRODUCTION TO LAND TRUST BY Jack Miller

At the start of the new century, these times may well be remembered more for its hazards than for its opportunities. Investors and estate builders who in the past have survived rampant inflation followed by deflation, recession, recovery and resumption of inflation met yet succumb to the greatest wealth dissipation device known to man - LITIGATION. In many instances, regardless of the merits of a particular case, the results are a foregone conclusion: the litigants will be broke and the attorneys enriched.

Asset protection has always been important as an estate grows. Where in more sane times the investor's principal concern was the selection of a particular financial vehicle or advisor/manager, that changed in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Today, the prudent estate builder will look first to safety - and particularly, protection against those who envy his or her success - rather than maximization of yields per se.

Table of Contents:

4. It’s What You Keep That Counts
6. Illinois type Land Trusts
7. What is a Land Trust?
8. Who May Form a Trust?
8. Third Party Directors
9. Individual Trustees
11. Trustee Duties
14. Transferring the Property
16. Liability
17. Protection
19. Rental Contracts
20. Estate Planning
22. Tax Basis
22. Land Trust Mechanics
22. Beneficial Interests as Personalty
23. Trust Privacy
24. Tax Reporting
24. Avoiding Corporate Taxation
25. Legal Aspects
25. Loan Liability
26. Spousal Rights
27. Liens
28. Co-Venturing Property Purchases
29. Mortgage and Due-On-Sale Tactics
31. Estate Freezing
32. Downside Risks
35. Out-Flanking Zoning Regulations
36. Legal Basis for Florida Land Trusts
42. Caveat Emptor: A Word in Parting