It depends. Technically, no. The land trust would be the fee title holder and owner of the real estate, so as long as the land trust was the seller of the relinquished property, set-up the 1031 exchange transaction, and the land trust was the buyer of the like-kind replacement property you would have no problems with the 1031 exchange.
However, you are contemplating a fairly complex asset protection strategy that can make it difficult to finance properties and quite often it will not be feasible to maintain the land trust as the taxpayer through out the transaction. The answer then changes to maybe or it depends if the land trust can not structure the 1031 exchange through out the transaction.
The land trust is generally considered a pass-thru entity and a disregarded entity so that there are other options, but it depends on what requirements the lender is placing on the property.
I guess the first question that I would ask is do you have significant exposure to known liabilities or risks? Why are you setting up such an elaborate asset protection structure that can significantly complicate your real estate portfolio? You might be going down the right path if you are exposed to or could be subject to significant liability or risk, but you might be creating a major headache. Sometimes the safest, cleanest and easiest solution is to hold title in an LLC and purchase really good insurance coverage. You are also potentially trapping the assets/equity under the S or C Corporation umbrella.
I would be happy to discuss the structure with you if you would like. Just call.
William L. Exeter
President and Chief Executive Officer
EXETER 1031 Exchange Services, LLC
A Qualified Intermediary (Accommodator) for 1031 Exchanges
EXETER Fiduciary Services, LLC
A Private Professional Fiduciary Services Company
http://www.exeter1031.comhttp://www.exeterdst.com