Should you put your rental property into your living trust or LLC?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Let’s go back to work. Next in line is Jean from Orlando. Jean, you’re on News 96.5. Go ahead.

Jean: Good morning, Tom. We appreciate you being there for us. My question here is regarding your specialty, living trusts.

Jean: My husband and I have a living trust and we have one grown child which everything will go to. My question involves rentals. We have three rental duplexes. One is free and clear, and two have mortgages on them. Should we put our rental property in our living trust?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Absolutely. Jean, when you sign that trust, it is though you have built an empty vault or an empty safe, and you must fill that safe up with your assets and that includes retitling your rental properties into the name of your trust.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Jean, if you passed away without putting your rental property in the name of your trust, they would go through probate. Does that make sense to you?

Jean: Yes, it does. We have a friend that has hers in an LLC, and that was my question. Should these be in three separate LLCs?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Okay. Your living trust is all about avoiding probate. It has nothing to do with protecting your assets from creditors. If you are concerned about somebody slipping and falling on your rental properties, then you could create an LLC, transfer those properties into the name of the LLC, and then have the stock in that LLC owned by your trust. It sounds like you may need to have some work done on your trust. If so, call the Olsen Law Group in Orlando at 407-423-5561.