SPV Trust Control: Florida Legal Warning

• Control must be handed over: If you still manage the assets after they go into the trust, a Florida court could call your trust an “alter ego” — meaning fake, and pierce it.
• Pick a qualified trustee: Your trustee must truly manage the SPV assets. Avoid acting like you still own them.
• Use a successor trustee: Name a backup trustee to ensure smooth operations if the primary trustee resigns or dies.

Trust Purpose: Define It Clearly

• Estate planning: Avoid Florida probate, preserve privacy, and pass assets smoothly to heirs.
• Asset protection: Use the SPV to isolate liability from personal holdings.
• Tax planning: Coordinate with a CPA to ensure your SPV trust complies with Florida and federal tax expectations.
• Provisions for minors: Ensure minors receive support without direct access to funds.
• Business use: SPVs can also structure legal and operational separation for complex or high-liability ventures (see examples below).

SPV Use Cases (Examples)

• Timeshare Exit Processing: An SPV can hold the contracts, legal files, and titles for timeshare exit clients, isolating liability from marketing and sales arms.
• Loan Holding and Servicing: SPVs can acquire or originate private loans (secured or unsecured), holding promissory notes and servicing documents securely within the trust.
• Call Center Lead Management: To shield liability, an SPV can be used to manage inbound/outbound leads, licensing, and regulatory audits separately from core business operations.

Trust Type: Simple vs. Complex

• Simple Trust: Must distribute all income. Can’t give away principal or donate to charity.
• Complex Trust: Can save income, give assets, or donate. Often preferred for SPVs managing real estate, businesses, or multi-asset portfolios.

SPV Structure and Documentation

• Keep separate records: SPVs must operate independently — separate books, bank accounts, contracts, and filings.
• Governance binder: Prepare an authority matrix, minutes, ownership records, and signatory controls to strengthen legitimacy.
• Audit-ready asset schedule: Real estate? Include deeds, leases, policies. Chattel? Show titles, contracts, UCC filings.

SPV Asset Categories (Examples)

Asset Type	Examples	What to Document
Real Estate	Homes, rentals, industrial property	Title, leases, mortgage, taxes, insurance, contracts
Chattel (UCC assets)	Receivables, equipment, inventory	Assignment logic, UCC filings, receipts, control documentation
Loan Instruments	Private mortgages, business loans, payment schedules	Promissory notes, servicing agreements, UCC records, lien documents
Legal Files	Timeshare exit paperwork, attorney letters, power of attorney forms	Scanned signed documents, case tracking, title assignment chains
Leads/Operations	Call center contracts, DNC compliance, opt-in records	Data logs, recording policies, indemnity coverage, CRM mapping

Privacy: Naming Your Trust

• Use a neutral name: Avoid your last name. Example: “Silverpine Asset Trust” instead of “Smith Family Trust” (unless it’s an estate or family trust).
• Reduces exposure: Helps avoid showing up in public property records or asset searches.

Trust Costs vs. Benefits in Florida

• Costs: Setup fees, ongoing trustee or legal support, accounting, filing, and potential Florida documentary stamp taxes on transfers.
• Benefits: Probate avoidance, asset isolation, privacy, creditor shielding, clearer estate planning.

Role of the Protector (Optional)

• Acts as a trust watchdog: Can replace trustees, modify terms, or protect the settlor’s intent.
• Common offshore, but usable in Florida: Especially helpful in long-term, high-asset trusts or when the settlor wants a fallback control without being involved directly.

Governance Gap Risk: Schedule a Review

• Gap Audit: Uncover structural or documentary weaknesses that trigger alter-ego exposure or delay underwriting.
• Align your structure: Clarify holding company, operating entity, SPV, and trust roles.
• Clean authority trail: Keep all governance documents centralized and consistent.

Book your governance review: Click here to schedule.