Anyone here establish an LLC or Trust as owner of your vehicle?

[CityWoman]

If you have an LLC or a Trust set up as title holder of your vehicle, for privacy's sake, would you care to share in which state you established your entity? Do you have more than one LLC, with one owning the other, for an extra layer of privacy? Also, if you have a ghost address for the LLC or vehicle reg, is it domestic or foreign and have you been happy with your setup?

I know that NM's laws that made anonymous LLCs possible either have changed or will change, so that new LLCs won't be anonymous anymore, but it might be possible with one or two other states (I believe). I'm not looking for details that would give you away, but just some feedback on how well it's worked for you, how easy or hard, etc., with regard to nomadship and living in a Trust- or LLC-owned vehicle. Thanks!

 

[Hermes1]

Not on our current vehicles, but previous vehicles we established a trust and the vehicles at that time were included. We live in Arizona where the trust was established. If you have specific questions may I suggest you contact an estate attorney rather than rely on "internet lawyers", to get the most reliable information, specifically as it applies to your situation.

 

[CityWoman]

If you have specific questions may I suggest you contact an estate attorney rather than rely on "internet lawyers", to get the most reliable information, specifically as it applies to your situation.

Thanks for your reply. Of course, I would engage an attorney before creating a trust or LLC for vehicle or real property ownership. I'm not looking for legal advice here! This thread is just a "temperature check" of sorts, to survey what others' experiences have been, which states they've had success with or not, and how easy/hard/costly the process was for them. Doing some informal research beforehand so that I will have an overall picture of possible problems, preferences, and procedures. And to understand what a lawyer is talking about when the time comes. Plus I like researching.

Looking forward to more responses!

 

[acfdexpo]

A guy I work with used a company like this:  https://www.49dollarmontanaregisteredagent.com/montana/llc
to purchase a RV.  Last time we spoke about it he was happy with the service, next time we speak I will update.

 

[BradKW]

I'm curious why someone would bother doing this just for privacy's sake? I was thinking that it might be a reasonable move if you were having trouble insuring a commercial vehicle like a box truck, but I never considered the privacy angle. Privacy from who, and to what purpose? Again, just curious...

 

[moorejames]

You might want to check with your insurance company first too... A lot of insurance companies will only insure corporately owned assets on a commercial policy. That can apply to autos and homes... Can sometimes mean you have to have a corporate policy on your home covering the structure and LLc's liability and then also buy a renters policy to cover your personal property and personal liability.  Lawyers don't usually pay much attention to the other fallout that can happen with trusts and corporate shells.

 

[slynne]

I'm curious why someone would bother doing this just for privacy's sake? 

Have you ever heard of doxxing? I have avoided it so far but as someone who runs my mouth off on the internet, I am at risk. 

I have never heard of setting up an LLC for the purpose of extra privacy but I am going to look into it for sure!

 

[BradKW]

I had to google doxxing...turns out I'm safe!

 

[chrisbailey]

For those who don't want to look it up

dox = [font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.[/font]

 

[CityWoman]

I'm curious why someone would bother doing this just for privacy's sake? . . . Privacy from who, and to what purpose?

As I understand it, there are two main reasons why someone would establish an LLC or Trust and sell or transfer vehicles and/or real estate to the entity as owner: privacy or asset protection. Apparently there are different ways to do it depending on your primary goal.

Regarding privacy, there are a lot of people who simply feel that governments want to know and keep tabs on too much about us, and that our private information is far too accessible to anyone, especially with the internet and social media, not to mention banking laws. It's not about evading taxes or doing anything criminal, just protecting one's privacy.

There are lots of websites and books on the topic of privacy. Most of them are based on the work of Jack aka JJ Luna. Check out http://jjluna.com. Jack Luna is known for his book called How to be Invisible. Frankly, I'm surprised we don't discuss privacy and asset protection much here, since many of us want to live as off-grid as possible.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Hmm strangely interested in this thread. With everyone and everything being so public in this world, it would be nice to cast a smaller footprint, or at least know there are still options to do so. Not that i'm ever expecting to be an interesting target for anyone.

I have an LLC in Mass and Maine and this will be the last year for the one in Mass. Out of curiosity i'll see if I can find anything about remaining anonymous through it.

 

[CityWoman]

I have an LLC in Mass and Maine and this will be the last year for the one in Mass. Out of curiosity i'll see if I can find anything about remaining anonymous through it.

The level of anonymity in an LLC depends on the laws of the state where it was established. Basically, from what I've read, it is whether or not that state requires annual reports and a list of officers for your LLC that determines how anonymous it is. Up until very recently, New Mexico was really the only state which did not require even the owners' names on the official filing, making it totally anonymous, but that has changed or will change soon. However, apparently, Nevada, Washington, and Montana are states in which there can be a fair amount of anonymity. There may be more, I'm still learning. The other way to achieve some anonymity is, as I mentioned earlier, have several LLCs in different states, one entity owning another, which owns another, and so on. And an LLC can be a holding comfpany, not actually running a business.

 

[Zil]

I don't understand how having a USA registered anything would improve privacy. I think having various shell registrations would result in a increased investigation by any curious Law Enforcement Entity.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Frankly, I'm surprised we don't discuss privacy and asset protection much here, since many of us want to live as off-grid as possible.

You see far more discussion on LLCs in the mainstream RV forums.  It's a favorite topic of well-off retired folks buying Massively Expensive Motorhomes.

Given the vast number of posts here on how to find a GOOD van for $5,000 or so; I'd guess the majority of people here (to include myself) don't have a lot of assets to protect and don't want to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to a lawyer just to set up an LLC.

Since I live on Social Security and a NY State Pension, both direct deposited to government approved financial institutions, any real chance I have of "privacy" from the government is pretty non-existant.

 

[Dgorila1]

Look up the book "How to Be Invisible" by JJ Luna, as well as his website. He is a privacy expert and LLC's are one of the instruments he touts as a method to title personal property (vehicles, property, etc) to better shield your ownership and a layer of protection from sue happy lawyers.

 

[TrainChaser]

OP: "... any real chance I have of "privacy" from the government is pretty non-existant."

I suspect that that is the standard, no matter how much people try to hide. Just because Luna says it, doesn't make it so. "Our" govt has access to a lot more info than the basic internet user.

And if a person plans to be a nomad, that alone could make you a bit trickier to find. Maybe even enough if you won a big lottery -- when EVERYONE wants to be your best friend.

 

[Wabbit]

I had to google doxxing...turns out I'm safe!

...amigos-tortilla-bar.jpg...

For whatever reasons, this struck my funny bone so hard I farted(out loud even!) Thanks for the laugh.

 

[GotSmart]

For whatever reasons, this struck my funny bone so hard I farted(out loud even!) Thanks for the laugh.

Sharting does not qualify you for the Y.A.R.C.   :s

The government has better (?) things to do than to follow me and see what I have in my cat box.  (Thats my story and I'm stickin to it!)

 

[TrainChaser]

The more boring you are, the better.

 

[CityWoman]

Look up the book "How to Be Invisible" by JJ Luna, as well as his website. He is a privacy expert and LLC's are one of the instruments he touts as a method to title personal property (vehicles, property, etc) to better shield your ownership and a layer of protection from sue happy lawyers.

Hi.  Yep, I mentioned JJ Luna upthread.  I subscribe to his mailing list and read his blog every now and then.  He also wrote a book about living in a truck or van.  It's called Off the Grid, but I haven't bought it nor any of his many other books.  Some people say his advice is overkill, but I have been wondering about the ownership of vehicles by an LLC as it pertains to nomadding.  I don't have much in the way of assets, but I would hope there is a good way to protect myself and whatever vehicle I wind up buying for living in as a nomad.

There are some states where it isn't all that expensive to establish an LLC, and you don't always need a lawyer to do that (I established two in NYS without a lawyer a number of years ago).  And some states provide more privacy than others.  I was just hoping that some van dwellers here had experience to share about it, but it looks like that's not the case.