Trust vs LLC · Free comparator · Five-year cost in every state
Trust or LLC? Usually the LLC first, then the trust on top.
An LLC stops a lawsuit against your business or rental from reaching your personal assets. A private trust keeps your name off public records and moves assets to heirs without probate. They solve different problems, which is why the honest answer is often both, in that order. Five questions give you a named answer and the real five-year cost in your state.
| Question | LLC | Private trust | Trust owns the LLC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stops a business or rental lawsuit at the entity | Yes | No | Yes |
| Keeps your name off public records | Some states | Yes | Yes |
| Passes assets to heirs without probate | No | Yes | Yes |
| One-time cost | $123.75 + state fee | $1,900 | $1,520 trust + LLC |
| Yearly upkeep | $74.25 agent + state report | None required | Same as the LLC |
| Best first step for | A business or rentals | A home, savings, heirs | Value worth keeping private |
Prices are ours: LLC formation, Irrevocable Private Trust, registered agent. State fees are quoted live at checkout and used as-is in the tool below. Education, not legal advice.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Rental Housing Finance Survey 2021 · Caring.com 2024 Wills Survey · our pricing
The comparator
Five questions, one named answer, priced for your state
Each answer moves you forward automatically; use Back any time, or press 1–4 on your keyboard. The cost table uses our real prices and your state's real formation and annual fees.
What are you trying to protect?
Why we ask: an LLC protects a business or a property that can get you sued. A trust protects ownership and the hand-off. The asset decides which tool is even relevant.
How many properties or businesses?
Why we ask: with several, one claim can reach all of them unless each sits in its own entity or under a holding LLC.
Is there a mortgage or business loan on it?
Why we ask: moving a mortgaged property into an LLC can trigger the loan's due-on-sale clause. That changes the order of operations, not the answer.
What is the main thing you want?
Why we ask: liability is an entity job; privacy and probate are trust jobs. If you want all three, that is the "both" answer, and it is priced below.
Which state?
Why we ask: the state sets the formation fee and the annual report or franchise tax, which is most of the difference between a $400 LLC and a $4,000 one over five years.
Why, from your answers
Before you move anything
| Option | One-time | Five years of upkeep | Five-year total |
|---|
Email me this comparison + the free guide
One email with your answer, the five-year cost table for your state, the things to check before you move anything, and our Business Trust & Private Structures guide (PDF). No drip campaign.
This answer reflects your inputs and general education about how LLCs and trusts are commonly used. Costs use our current prices and the state fees our checkout quotes today; states change fees. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and we are not a law firm.
What the articles skip
Four things to check before you move anything
Every "trust vs LLC" article ends with "it depends". These are the four things it actually depends on, and the tool above tells you which ones apply to you.
The due-on-sale clause
Most mortgages let the lender call the loan if the property changes hands, and a transfer into an LLC counts. Some lenders consent in writing; some do not care; some do. Ask first, or refinance in the LLC's name. Transfers into a revocable living trust of your own home are protected by federal law; transfers into an LLC are not.
Operating agreement transfer limits
Assigning your LLC membership to a trust is a transfer. Many template operating agreements require member consent or forbid it. Read yours, amend it if needed, and record the assignment with a resolution so the bank and the courts see a clean chain.
Bank friction when a trust owns the LLC
Banks will ask who controls the account. Expect to show the trust certificate, the operating agreement naming the trust as member, and a signing resolution. Having those dated and in one folder is the difference between a 20-minute account opening and a two-week one.
Insurance is still the first layer
An LLC does not replace landlord or liability insurance, and some carriers reprice a policy once the property is in an entity. Tell them. Keep an umbrella policy either way; it is the cheapest protection you will buy.
Which first
The order of operations when the answer is both
- Form the LLC, then move the property or business into itClear the mortgage question first. The LLC is the liability layer and it is cheap: $123.75 plus the state fee, $74.25 a year for the agent.
- Run it like a company for a few monthsSeparate bank account, resolutions, clean records. A trust that owns a commingled LLC inherits its weakness.
- Set up the trust and assign the LLC to itThe trust becomes the member of record. Your name leaves the public filing, and the LLC passes to heirs without probate. $1,900 alone, $1,520 bundled with formation.
FAQ
Questions people ask about trusts and LLCs
Can a trust own an LLC?
Yes. A trust can be the sole member of an LLC in every state. The trust is listed as the owner on the LLC's records, the trustee signs for it, and the LLC's operating agreement names the trust as the member. That is the structure people mean when they say "put the LLC in a trust".
Should I put my LLC in a trust?
If you want privacy or a probate-free hand-off, usually yes, once the LLC holds something worth protecting. If your only goal is stopping a lawsuit from reaching your personal assets, the LLC alone does that job and the trust is an extra cost you can defer. The tool above gives you the answer for your inputs.
Is an LLC or a trust better for rental property?
For a rental, the LLC comes first: it is the layer that stops a tenant claim at the property. A trust does not protect you from that claim. Once the property is in the LLC, a trust that owns the LLC adds privacy and skips probate. Check the mortgage before transferring.
Does a living trust protect me from lawsuits?
A revocable living trust does not. You still control the assets, so a creditor can still reach them. It avoids probate and keeps your affairs private. Liability protection comes from an entity, from insurance, and in some cases from an irrevocable structure set up well before any claim exists.
Which should I do first, the LLC or the trust?
The LLC, almost always. It is cheaper, it solves the more urgent problem, and the trust needs something to hold. Form the LLC, move the asset in, run it cleanly, then set up the trust and assign the LLC to it. Ordering both at once saves $380 on the trust.
Does moving my property into an LLC trigger the due-on-sale clause?
It can. Most mortgages treat a transfer to an LLC as a change of ownership that lets the lender demand full payment. Many lenders never act on it and some consent in writing, but you should ask before you transfer, or refinance in the LLC's name. Federal law protects transfers of your own home into a revocable living trust; that protection does not extend to LLCs.
What does the five-year cost include?
For the LLC: our $123.75 filing fee, your state's formation fee, five years of registered agent at $74.25, and five years of the state's annual report or franchise tax from the same table our Compliance Calendar uses. For the trust: the $1,900 one-time package, or $1,520 when bundled with formation. It does not include insurance, a CPA, or attorney review, which you should budget separately.
Is this legal advice?
No. The comparator is education: it applies general rules about how LLCs and trusts are commonly used to the answers you give. We are not a law firm. For your specific situation, work with a licensed attorney or tax professional; we prepare the documents and filings once you know what you want.
Stop reading "it depends". See what it depends on.
Five answers, a named structure, and the real five-year cost in your state. Then decide on your own timeline.
Get my answer and cost