Property business to trust how does it affect contracts?

[rey]

The people I work for took there property into a trust and named their children as trustees. They rent the property from the trust. Essentially it is a big tax evasion of sorts. I believe they are set to renegotiate my contract.

My question is this, when something goes into trust or a business is bought or taken over, what obligation, if any, do the new holder/owners/operators have to honor old contracts? Can they boot us out?

Thanks

[Paladin2]

Trusts help to avoid the hassles of Probate. They are legal.

[linear]

Placing the property in a trust might not have been something nefarious - it could have been done for estate planning purposes. A piece of property can’t enter into contracts, so it may not affect whatever contract you have in place with the owners.

[humblegunner]

Property business to trust how does it affect contracts?

The people I work for took there property into a trust

when something goes into trust or a business is bought or taken over

First, I think it might be a good idea to learn English.

Truly, I think that a working knowledge of English would serve you well in this circumstance.

[rey]

Right. Got your point. No one except a stupid S### like me ever makes a typo. You were very helpful. I will enroll in a graduate course in English before pursuing this matter further.

[silverleaf]

generally as ownership transfers so do the existing leases on a property, the terms of which remain, so the new owners must honor them

But you should seek your own legal advice as the lease comes up for renegotiation

[humblegunner]

No one except a stupid S### like me ever makes a typo.

Or sixteen in a row, but who's counting.

[Boogieman]

Don’t mind him, he’s just the resident curmudgeon.

If you have a contract, it’s with the owners, or their business, and it should still be in effect, UNLESS something in your contract stipulates that it is annulled or severable when the property is sold. If there is nothing like that in the contract, then they can’t just break it without cause.

[proxy_user]

We have over a million lawyers in the US. This kind of thing is just up their alley.

[NonValueAdded]

Look for the key words in your contract “their heirs, assigns, or successors.” I would assume most business contracts done or reviewed by a lawyer have provisions for what happens when a business is bought, sold, goes out of business, etc. But IANL. Consult one if you are concerned.

[tbw2]

The trust can reduce the hassle of probate.
It also protects the owner’s assets when sued. Whether you’re talking Dave Ramsey or Robert Kiyosaki, there is constant advice to consider a trust when you hit a specific net worth so that if someone sues for damage/injuries on one property, you can’t lose all of it.

[tbw2]

The lease shouldn’t change until up for renewal, and if they are using the trust to handle the property and protect their assets, the only likely change is writing a check to “ABC family trust” instead of “ABC owner name”.

[Extra-Ordinary Objectives]

The answer is likely in your contract. (without having seen it) It would most likely be binding on new ownership unless there is a termination clause allowing the contract to be canceled upon certain conditions (like a change in ownership).

Good luck.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

They rent the property from the trust. Essentially it is a big tax evasion of sorts.

Sounds like legal tax avoidance - not tax evasion.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

[old curmudgeon]

I am always amused by people who will spend time picking at a poster's grammar and/or punctuation but will not add one word to the knowledge pool.

In other words, lots of chicken shit but no help.

In simple English, the purpose of most trusts is to manage a person's money and property after death. In some cases, before death.

But in either case it is to manage, not destroy.

So the trust will enforce the terms of any contract while that contract is in force. When the contract expires, the trust may determine that the contract was not in the best interest of the trust and may either not renew it or renew it on different terms.

But they can not refuse to honor it.

The exception to that would be if the contract has a clause to the effect that it may be canceled by either party on xxx days notice.

I am not a lawyer, but I have had some experience with both trusts and contracts.

You do need to get a lawyer to read your contract to see what and if any conditions exist for termination.

[TexasGator]

their(sic) are different types of trusts.

[Sacajaweau]

http://estate.findlaw.com/trusts/types-of-trusts.html

[gunsmithkat]

I’m no lawyer but the Trust only involves the physical property. It has nothing to do with contracts entered into by the owners of the business. It makes good sense to put the property into a trust as it avoids all kinds of probate issues on the death of the principal.

[rey]

Thanks. Loved your joke. I knew my error as soon as I posted it but you cannot call it back. Also, affect is ok if it is used as a verb instead of a noun. I’ll have to look at my original post to double check, but I thought I had it right.