ownership

I'm not a lawyer. Take the following only as an indication of what you
may wish to look into. If you already know what state your residence
will be in, a good estate lawyer can answer most of your questions. I
really don't know what resource could give you a comparative analysis of
various states.

Your legal residence:
There are various tax and legal implications relating to what state you
"live" in. There is some heavy duty number crunching needed here because
it involves many different types of taxes: sales, income, property,
intangible property, inheritance, vehicle, insurance regulations,
pension regulations, marital (family) laws, etc.

States differ widely on how they regulate and tax boat owners, although
the theme generally remains $$$$. In California there is actually a
legal method of taking possesion of a boat without paying sales tax (or
was 2 years ago when last I looked it up). HOWEVER, some states
apparently insist that if you can't prove you've paid sales tax to
_somebody_, then you owe it to them if you come and stay within their
jurisdiction for some nominal time (3 months?). Since sales tax can be a
pretty bit of change, depending on where you berth (what state and
county), this may be worth investigating within the context of any plans
you have already made.

Federal documentation may be helpful in some dire straits. One local
harbor had a documented hulk residing grandly in front of the harbor
master's office for almost a year - _after_ he started trying to sell it
under lien - because the feds wouldn't allow it without the right forms
getting filled out. Naturally the owner couldn't find time to file the
forms.

Various ownerships:
If multiple parties own an asset with the word AND between the names on
the title, not the word OR, it usually becomes more difficult to seize
it all. Certain trust setups allow the placing of large assets in the
name of the next generation (or, probably, of anybody else you might
choose) while allowing the trustees full use and benefit of that asset
during their life times. Estate lawyers know about ownership issues.

Quite aside from ownership, another useful practice involves setting up
your own company. There are often price advantages to purchasing
equipment as one _business_ to another. RJ Systems, with a tax exempt
number, buying from Acme Chain & Rigging, usually pays less than Robert
Jones using a VISA card at West Marine. But your income tax consultant
needs to know about this.

Finally, my insurance rant: Insurance is becoming a lose/lose-more
proposition for US citizens. I think you will need to invest some
serious time in finding a policy. After diligent and deep research to
weed out the most egregious rip-offs you will still find your cruising
much restricted as you try to not void your policy coverage. In
particular you will need to watch your cruising areas, time of year,
number of _experienced_ crew, distance from shore, type of equipment,
and what the weather report on record has said, where you berth your
boat, where you haul it. One issue recently exposed is what coverage you
(don't) have between the water and the place your boat is placed in a
yard - ie. while it's on the crane or travel-lift. Another sore point is
live-aboard issues - some policies prohibit it, others have _no_
personal property or liability coverage. Another point is coverage while
you live aboard in a yard. Get a copy of the policy before you waste
your time signing it and read all 30 pages of it at least twice. I
suspect it will leave a bad taste in your mouth. Actually you may find
it quite difficult to even get a copy of the policy, unless you give
them money - but it can be done. I'm afraid that to me insurance
companies appear to have stopped offering value and started to collect
extortion.

But for all that, it should be a grand adventure. Good luck.

Rufus