TL;DR: LLCs protect you from lawsuits while you’re alive and running things. Trusts handle what happens after you die and keep your family out of probate court. If you have serious wealth, you probably need both working together. Digital assets especially benefit from holding investments in an LLC, then putting LLC ownership into a trust.
LLC and Trust Formation: Building the Right Structure for Your Wealth #
LLCs and trusts solve different problems. Everyone treats them like interchangeable asset protection tools, but they’re doing completely different jobs.
An LLC gives you control and liability protection while you’re alive and active. A trust handles succession, what happens when you’re gone.
LLCs protect you from getting sued personally when something goes wrong in your business or investments. Someone trips at your rental property? The LLC takes the hit, not your personal bank account. You also get clean tax treatment since profits and losses flow through to your personal return without corporate double taxation.
Trusts do something else entirely. They move assets out of probate, so your family doesn’t spend months in court after you die. They let you set conditions on when beneficiaries get access to money. You can protect assets from creditors and handle wealth transfer across generations in ways an LLC can’t touch.
Digital assets complicate this. Cryptocurrency, domain names, digital businesses all need both structures. You hold them in an LLC for liability protection and tax clarity while you’re actively managing them. Then you transfer LLC ownership into a trust for Succession Planning. Your heirs inherit the LLC shares through the trust, skip probate, and keep the business running without interruption.
Most people get the order wrong. They set up a trust first because it sounds sophisticated, then realize they can’t efficiently run a business through it. Or they stick with just an LLC and leave their family fighting through probate.
Asset size changes the approach. Under $1 million, a simple revocable living trust probably covers you. Between $1-10 million, you’re looking at LLCs for active holdings plus trusts for Estate Planning. Past $10 million, you’re not just managing investments anymore. You’re dealing with multi-generational tax strategy, philanthropic structures, and Succession Planning that needs professional oversight.
That’s where the difference between a registered investment advisor and a Family Office shows up. A wealth management firm like Digital Wealth Partners handles your investments, provides fiduciary guidance, and manages asset Custody. They’re focused on growing and protecting your Portfolio.
A Family Office goes further. Digital Ascension Group coordinates all of it: Estate Planning, business succession, tax strategy across entities, philanthropic giving. They make sure your LLC structure talks to your trust structure and both line up with your long-term family goals.
If you’re just trying to avoid probate, you don’t need a Family Office. But when you stop asking “how do I structure my assets” and start asking “how do I coordinate all of this across generations,” that’s when it makes sense to talk to Digital Ascension Group.
