Posted by John Merchant on August 04, 2003 at 08:43:25:
Sure, you could be the trustee. It would be a grantor trust, which is in law a merger of interests, so a very filmy, wispy trust and very vulnerable to any creditor/predator looking at grabbing your assets.
However, if the trust were not in your name, and an outsider were looking to see what you owned, he likely would not come across any RE in that trust’s name. Now if the trust included your home, he might get suspicious, and have a look at who’s paying the RE taxes, and the utilities, which he might be able to discover.
There are some reputable independent trustees you might consider using, and have them pay all taxes, utilities, etc., so as to fog up the window. If you’d give me a call [(253) 228-2277 ]I’d be glad to discuss this with you and give you a name or two.
On the WA excise tax, I don’t know a legal way to avoid them.