Short Answer

In North Carolina, you don’t create an “LLC trust.” You create a revocable living trust and form a North Carolina LLC, then title assets so the trust owns the LLC (and the LLC holds the crypto and other assets). Proper funding with a pour-over will helps avoid probate. A revocable trust does not shield your assets from your own creditors, and notice-to-creditors rules still run through an estate or limited personal representative.

Understanding the Problem

You want to know how, under North Carolina law, you can set up a structure so you (as trustee) can place crypto and personal assets into an arrangement that avoids probate, transfers wealth to your children, and supports borrowing against crypto without triggering capital gains. One key fact: you plan to manage the structure yourself and name your children as beneficiaries.

Apply the Law

North Carolina law allows you to use a revocable living trust to avoid probate for assets properly titled to the trust. Many clients pair that trust with a North Carolina LLC: the trust owns the LLC membership interests, and the LLC holds the crypto and other assets for liability segregation and easier administration. A pour-over will catches anything you forget to retitle. Revocable trust assets remain subject to your creditors during life and at death. Creditor claim deadlines are triggered by an estate (or a limited personal representative) giving statutory notice, not by administering a trust alone.

Key Requirements

• Create a valid revocable trust: Name yourself as initial trustee, name successor trustee(s), and identify your beneficiaries and distribution terms.
• Form and fund the LLC: File Articles with the N.C. Secretary of State; adopt an operating agreement; issue membership interests to your trust; then place the crypto and other assets into the LLC.
• Fund the trust: Retitle non-LLC assets directly to the trust or update beneficiary designations; use a pour-over will for any stragglers.
• Trustee powers and records: Ensure the trust and operating agreement authorize holding digital assets, borrowing, and pledging collateral; keep detailed key custody and transaction records.
• Creditor notice and claims: To bar most claims after death, a personal representative must publish/mail notice to creditors; trust administration alone does not cut off claims.

What the Statutes Say

• North Carolina Gen. Stat. § 36C-5-505 (Claims against settlor) – Revocable trust property is subject to the settlor’s creditors during life and at death.
• North Carolina Gen. Stat. § 28A-14-1 (Notice to creditors) – Personal representative must publish and, for known creditors, mail notice; this starts the claims window.
• North Carolina Gen. Stat. § 36C-8-816 (Powers of trustee) – Trustees may invest, borrow, and pledge trust property if authorized.
• North Carolina Gen. Stat. § 36C-10-1013 (Certification of trust) – Lets you prove trust authority without disclosing the full trust document.

Analysis

Apply the Rule to the Facts: Your goals fit a revocable trust + NC LLC structure: title the LLC membership to the trust, then place your crypto in the LLC. That avoids probate for those assets if the trust is funded. As trustee, you can manage the assets and authorize borrowing if your trust and LLC documents provide that power. However, because it’s a revocable trust, assets remain reachable by your creditors. To shorten creditor claim periods after death, a personal representative must give statutory notice.

Process & Timing

1. Who files: You (through counsel). Where: N.C. Secretary of State (LLC); no court filing to create a revocable trust; execute a pour-over will for later filing with the Clerk of Superior Court at death. What: Trust agreement; NC LLC Articles and operating agreement; pour-over will; durable power of attorney; health care power of attorney; HIPAA release; assignments and retitling documents; certification of trust. When: Do the trust, will, and LLC setup together; fund immediately to avoid probate issues.
2. Retitle and fund: Issue LLC membership interests to the trust; move crypto into the LLC (or trust, as planned); update account titles/beneficiaries. Provide counterparties a certification of trust. Expect banks and exchanges to request KYC docs and EIN.
3. Post-death: The successor trustee administers trust assets. To bar most creditor claims, open an estate or seek a limited personal representative to publish/mail creditor notice with the Clerk of Superior Court. After the claims window closes and debts/taxes are resolved, distribute to beneficiaries.

Exceptions & Pitfalls

• Revocable trust ≠ asset protection from your own creditors; claims can reach trust assets.
• Funding failures: If you don’t retitle assets to the trust/LLC, they may still require probate.
• Crypto custody risks: Document key management, access procedures, and fiduciary controls; loss of keys can be a breach of duty.
• Borrowing against crypto: Lenders may require personal guarantees; confirm trustee/manager borrowing and collateral powers in your documents.
• Notice-to-creditors trap: To cut off most claims, publish/mail notice through a personal representative; a trust-only process doesn’t do it.

Talk to a Estate Planning Attorney

If you’re dealing with how to structure a North Carolina trust-and-LLC plan for crypto and personal assets, our firm has experienced attorneys who can help you understand your options and timelines. Call us today at 919-341-7055.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about North Carolina law based on the single question stated above. It is not legal advice for your specific situation and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, procedures, and local practice can change and may vary by county. If you have a deadline, act promptly and speak with a licensed North Carolina attorney.