AMEX bounces me around

[StartingOver08]

Isn't there some kind of thing where you can be a controller of a Trustee without it being found in a search and then have all of your property in a Trustee's name? That's what Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man) did. His house went into some kind of other name.

Yes. The property can be put in a trust. The trust name can be anything - call it xyz trust. You have a trustee and a beneficiary. The trustee and the beneficiary can be the same person, or different people. You can even sell the beneficial interest in the property without changing the name on the deed as the trust still owns it. (very simple non-lawyer type explanation) This is a very effective way of owning property/assets without having your given name on the title. Legal too.

[debtmonster]

Yes. The property can be put in a trust. The trust name can be anything - call it xyz trust. You have a trustee and a beneficiary. The trustee and the beneficiary can be the same person, or different people. You can even sell the beneficial interest in the property without changing the name on the deed as the trust still owns it. (very simple non-lawyer type explanation) This is a very effective way of owning property/assets without having your given name on the title. Legal too.

I want to do this in the future. Can you buy cars like this as well?

What happens if you walked into a car dealership and paid $80,000 cash? Does it get reported some place? Can you have it go in a trustee's name so your name isn't mentioned to give you more anonymity?

[StartingOver08]

DM, that is an attorney type question. I don't know about vehicles at all.

The way it works with property (real property) is the trust is the owner. So if the Trust is "xyz revocable trust dated 11/30/2008" that is the name that shows on the property records.

The Trust has a Trustee and a beneficiary. The beneficial rights to the trust can be sold. If they are sold, it does not affect the name on the property records - it is still owned by the trust, but the person that has the benefit is the new beneficiary. As far as I am aware, the name of the trust is public record (if it is recorded on a deed), but the name of the beneficiary is not public. That is why you have to talk to an attorney.

This arrangement might be too expensive for a vehicle, because an attorney has to set up the trust - as far as I know.

[magyar123]

I want to do this in the future. Can you buy cars like this as well?

What happens if you walked into a car dealership and paid $80,000 cash? Does it get reported some place? Can you have it go in a trustee's name so your name isn't mentioned to give you more anonymity?

If you walk into a car dealership with $80,000 in cash the dealership has to report you to the IRS, just like banks do if you deposit a cash amount like that into your bank account. I think it's $10,000/over in/on one day.

[debtmonster]

So how do you buy a car like that and not have it reported?

[debtmonster]

Well two things, one is how do you get that kind of cash in the first place, it probably wouldn't be legal, cause if it was, you wouldn't need to pay "cash" for it, you would get a bank draft.

Second, I am sure you can find an exotic car dealer in Miami or some place like that that "might" sell you a car for cash, but your going to pay more than if you paid "cash" via a check or bank draft. They have to then launder the money and fix the paper work to avoid a problem.

All these laws were set up to prevent drug dealers and money laundering from being able to move cash like that.

So what if you buy a one-year old vehicle from a private person and not a car dealer? Like suppose you bought a 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo for $65,000 from a private person? This private person isn't going to notify the IRS that you paid him in stacks of $100 bills.

The cash would be from cash gifting and backed up with gifting statements. I just don't want to raise any red flags in the first place, even if the cash is legal. It's more hassle than it's worth.