Keep your address confidential while buying real property
When you buy a house or other real estate, you have to sign a lot of documents that show your name and the address or location of your property. These documents show up in public records that anyone can see. If you’re in the Address Confidentiality Program (ACP), you can keep your name and location confidential by creating a Revocable Living Trust that you can control. Then you can buy property in the name of the Trust, without using your own name. (Form and instructions)
1. Fast facts
What is the Address Confidentiality Program?
Washington's Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) helps people who fear for their safety maintain a confidential address. You can use ACP as part of your overall safety plan to keep a perpetrator from locating you through public records such as driver licenses, voter registries, marriage and property records.
You are eligible for ACP if you live in Washington and any of these are true:
- You’re a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, or stalking
- You’re a criminal justice employee or elections official who has been a target of threats or harassment because of your work
What is a revocable living trust?
A revocable living trust (we’ll call this the Trust) is a legal arrangement to hold specific property (like real estate) for someone's benefit. It is "revocable" because the person who created it can cancel it at any time.
You create a revocable living trust by making a written agreement. The agreement names these people:
- Settlor: The person who creates the Trust – this is you, the ACP participant.
- Beneficiary: The person who benefits from the Trust – this is also you, the ACP participant. You could make someone else the beneficiary, but that is more complicated. Talk to a lawyer if you’re thinking of having someone other than you as the beneficiary.
- Trustee/s: The people or organizations that manage the Trust and sign documents for the Trust. This can be you (the ACP participant) together with another person or organization as co-trustees. We’ll call the other person or organization the "Public Trustee" because their name will appear in the public record.
You can create a trust that you manage for your own benefit where you’re the "Settlor", "Beneficiary", and “Trustee”.
How does a revocable living trust work for real estate?
When you purchase property, you typically work with a title and escrow company who prepare and record a document so there is proof of the transfer in ownership (title). Transfer documents are Deeds. If a loan is part of the purchase transaction, a mortgage or deed of trust will also be recorded. Transfer and loan documents will include the buyer’s name and address. When a document is “recorded”, it becomes part of the county’s permanent public records. Anyone is allowed to see recorded documents – they’re not confidential.
If you have a Trust, the Trust can buy property on your behalf and hold title for your benefit, so your name does not appear on any publicly recorded documents and nobody can find you by tracing from these documents. Here’s how it works.
What if I already bought my house?
A revocable living trust works best for property you do not already own. You can transfer property you already own to a revocable living trust. But your name and address will already be in the public record, so it is not as useful for confidentiality. Your name will still be on the deed from when you first bought the property and the deed transferring the property to the Trust. Those deeds and the real estate excise tax affidavits will still be publicly available in the county where your property is located.