How to Create a Land Trust

Land trusts are established for a number of reasons. These trusts are used to hide the owner's name from potential identity thieves, to avoid paying homeowner's association fees and to prevent liens on the property should the owner leave unpaid debts when they die. 

• Establish a non-profit organization. By establishing a non-profit organization you could purchase land through a land trust in order to develop the land for a specific purpose. For example, a non-profit organization that wishes to purchase land for the purpose of building a shelter for abused women could create a land trust using the organization's name. The non-profit organization would purchase the property using land grants to develop and operate this abused women's shelter. 


• Initiate the creation of a land trust if you own a construction company. Construction companies often work with other investors when creating a development such as a new subdivision. For this development the construction company would create a land trust to include each investor in ownership of the property. Such investors are usually real estate firms who wish to generate revenue from the sale of homes built on the properties included in this land trust. The construction company would in this case own the homes in which they built yet they would list the properties with the real estate firm in order for the agents to earn commissions on each sale. 


• Create a land trust registering the land in a specific trustee's name. These land trusts have been created since the 1800's. A development company purchases the land and grants a trustee ownership as a condition to develop the land. The trustee generally is selected to plant, harvest and maintain a specific crop and/or other product for which the development company will earn profits through the crop sales.