FLORIDA LAND TRUST

The Florida Land Trust was set up by Florida Statute using the “ Illinois” Land Trust model, which has been in use for over a century. This Florida Land Trust mechanism functions to benefit property owners in many ways, however, expertise in the legal operation of this kind of Trust is necessary to assure that an owner or investor using such a Trust is protected. PCS Title offers the expertise needed to help owners create such a Trust at a reasonable cost.

The greatest benefits to be derived from the creation of a Land Trust are that it provides privacy and avoids probate. During an owner’s life, and even at an owner’s death, that person’s real property holdings will not be a matter of public record, as would normally be the case. Nor are transfer transactions, purchase or sales prices available for public scrutiny. Additionally, at the owner’s death, there is a both a cost savings and time savings advantage related to probate costs and distributions of assets in having certain real property in a Land Trust.

The method by which this is accomplished is that the property owner executes a Trust Agreement covering a specific property and naming TRSTE, LLC or any other trust entity as Trustee. In that agreement, the owner chooses and names a beneficiary or beneficiaries of the Trust (the beneficiary may be the owner). If the beneficiary is a natural person rather than some other legal entity such as a corporation, then the owner may also want to choose a Successor Trustee. This Trust Agreement is not recorded in the public record.

At the same time, the owner executes a deed transferring the property into the name of TRSTE, LLC, as Trustee, for example. This deed is recorded at the appropriate county registry thus making TRSTE, LLC the owner of record. (As a result, the County Tax Collector will send the property tax bills to TRSTE, LLC and those bills will be forwarded to the owner for payment.)

ADVANTAGES OF LAND TRUSTS

• Privacy Advantages
• Ownership of a property is not shown on the public record.
• Financial information related to buying or selling property is not disclosed.
• By selling your beneficial interest in the Trust rather than conveying the property by deed, transfer of the property is private.
• Property in the Trust is protected against judgments or liens.

• Management Advantages
  1. Better control, particularly when several partners own a property.
  2. Easier management of rental properties when dealing with tenants as simply an agent of the Trust, rather than the landlord.
• Financial Advantages
  • Mortgages in the Trust’s name do not affect your financial statement adversely.
  • Requirements of some lenders regarding the length of time a property must be owned are not a factor.