Letter Re: How To Title Retreat Property, An Overlooked Item in Your Planning, by John in the Ozarks

HJL

John in the O is right on. It is important to make it hard to track you down. He talks about insurance in a figurative sense. My day job is independent insurance agent. In the literal sense it is important in insurance for names to match. Not named? Then there’s no coverage. Find an agent that preps, confide in that agent, and get the coverage right. No one ever comes to me looking for one of my clients, particularly lawyers. Even if the insurance company is not paying attention to details, handling a check with the wrong name on it is a real problem. – RV

o o o

Hugh,

A couple things you might want to consider before you title your property under an LLC or any other corporate entity. If things go bad for you in a lawsuit or for any other reason you have to file bankruptcy, you will lose the property. Under bankruptcy law there are certain exemptions from execution. These exemptions are items that you get to keep. You get to choose either the federal exemptions or the state exemptions. The state exemptions vary, but state and federal both include homestead exemptions. Some states, like Florida, allow 100% of one home, while the feds and most states have a dollar amount maximum on one home. Corporations do not have exemptions. So, if the corporation gets sued, you lose the property. If you get sued, you forfeit the corporation and still lose the property. I might suggest that you keep at least one residence in your name.

Some states, and other governmental subdivisions, provide for reduced property tax to senior citizens. Even very old corporations don’t get that benefit. This is good only on one residence. – R.