By creating a land trust, you can protect your ownership in real estate, avoid probate, protect your privacy, and simplify selling, transferring and borrowing against your property.

What is a Land Trust?

A land trust is simply a legal method used to enhance the process of owning, selling or transferring real estate. When you establish a land trust at BankFinancial, the recorded title to the real estate is held by the trustee (BankFinancial) on your behalf, while all the rights and benefits of ownership are enjoyed by the beneficiary (you, the property owner).

Benefits of a Land Trust

Elimination of Probate Expenses and Delays
Arrange for your real property to be distributed automatically to your heirs without the complication and costs of probate. It can also expedite the sale of the property, so your heirs are not burdened with prolonged payments for real estate taxes, utilities, insurance, and if applicable, mortgage payments.

Protection of Privacy
Identity of the real owner (trust beneficiary) is not a matter of public record and generally cannot be disclosed to the public unless requested by a governmental agency or court order in certain circumstances. Your real estate holdings remain confidential.

Ease of Multiple Ownership
Even though the beneficiary of the land trust retains the right to manage and control the trust, the legal and equitable title to the property is held by the trustee. The trustee signs any documents related to any real estate transactions, eliminating the need for multiple owners to sign every document.

Ease in Selling and Transferring Property
Provides a convenient means of mortgaging and selling the trust property because it is not necessary to obtain deeds from all the beneficiaries and their spouses. It alleviates the need to obtain the release and waiver of homestead rights of a spouse's interest in the trust property.

Prevention of Partition Suits
Enables you to avoid partition suits because a co-beneficiary cannot force the sale or division of the property held in a land trust.

Assignable Interest and Use as Collateral
Your beneficial interest is assignable in whole or in part to third parties and may be used as collateral for a loan.

Simple Disposition of Partial Interests
Simplifies the problems of disposing of a partial interest in a property since the beneficial interest can be transferred by assignment. Therefore, it is not necessary to tender a deed with all the associated legal requirements. The assignment alone transfers the interest. This is especially important when real estate is held by a number of persons.

Creating a Land Trust

There are two simple steps:
  1. Execution of the Trust Agreement, and
  2. Recording of the Deed in Trust, which conveys the property into the Land Trust.
Call our Land Trust Department at 1.800.894.6900 to establish your land trust, today.


Not FDIC insured / May lose value / Not financial institution guaranteed / Not a bank deposit / Not insured by any federal government agency.