Our Trust Services Department provides the tools and services to help you maximize your financial affairs in a manner that puts your real estate to work for you in the short and long term.

LAND TRUSTS

A Land Trust is a simple, inexpensive estate planning tool that can provide benefits and peace of mind to owners of real estate. Trust arrangements are often used as a way to safeguard personal assets, simplify the legal aspects of ownership, or pass on real estate to your heirs without a probate proceeding.

With a Bridgeview Bank Land Trust, we act as a titleholder and trustee for a designated property while you – as the beneficial owner, or beneficiary, of the real estate – exercise all of the rights and conveniences of ownership. As beneficiary, you retain complete control of the real estate in the same manner as if the recorded title would be in your name. This can provide many advantages, including:

• Privacy of Ownership – under a Land Trust the identity of the owner is shielded from public disclosure except when legally required to be disclosed. Beneficiaries are notified regarding inquiries about their property.
• Protection of Ownership – if the property in trust is owned by more than one individual, the title to the property may become faulty and unmerchantable due to death, legal disability, divorce, judgments or other types of litigation affecting one of the co-owners.
• Ease of Conveyance – a Land Trust provides a convenient way to mortgage or sell property without having to obtain deeds from the beneficiaries and their spouses. This can be most beneficial when numerous parties claim ownership and/or are living in different states.
• Disposing of Part Interest – Land Trusts simplify the disposition of a partial interest in a property since the beneficial interest under a Land Trust can be transferred by assignment without a deed. This can be helpful for estate planning purposes or in instances where owners have a disproportionate share of the property.
• Succession and Probate – a beneficiary can retain sole control over the property during his/her lifetime with the succession in ownership effective upon death. This can eliminate the need to go through costly probate proceedings.

EXCHANGE EDGE § 1031 EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Exchange Edge, Bridgeview Bank’s § 1031 Exchange Program, can provide owners of business and investment property with substantial tax savings, and give them the edge they need to acquire additional property or properties of higher value.

Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code allows owners to roll-over all of the proceeds received from the sale of an investment property into the purchase of one or more other like-kind investment properties, without reporting any profit or paying capital gains taxes. Eligible properties might include:

Using our 1031 Exchange Edge program, proceeds from the close of a property are transferred to a third party – Bridgeview Exchange Group, LLC – who holds them for a period of up to 180 days or until the proceeds are used to acquire a new property. This deferment is like getting an interest free loan on the tax dollars you would have owed for a cash sale. More equity is retained and this enables owners the ability to change, consolidate, diversify, or improve their holdings.

Exchange Edge services are open to individuals, corporations, limited liability companies, trusts and foreigners who own U.S. property.

To find out if a Land Trust or § 1031 Exchange is right for you, or to learn more about the potential benefits of Bridgeview Bank’s Trust Services, please contact us at 773.989.5712, or ask one of our Personal Bankers who will be glad to assist you and/or put you in touch with a Trust Administrator.

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