This blog is not intended to provide legal or investing advice. Some states have laws that are illegal in others. Laws and practices change constantly and are interpreted differently. This blog may not apply to your specific situation. No action suggested in this book should be done without first consulting a competent legal expert.
Change Your Mailing Address:
Take things slowly at first. Immediately stop receiving and sending mail to your home address.
If you presently get mail at home, please provide a forwarding address. But where should this mail be delivered? Not to any future permanent residence. Among the options are: Select your existing PO Box. Alternatively, have it mailed to a business friend or to your own office. Purchase a commercial postal box rental (CMRA). The mail is delivered to a phantom address.
Public boxes: I use the term “public” to refer to the boxes rented by the USPS (USPS). Private CMRAs include Postal Annex, PostNet Postal and Business Centers, and The UPS Store.
Your present address will be in dozens, of databases until you move. However, you will never give up your street address again.
POSTOFFICE BOXES: Pick up mail once or twice a week from a box rented as far away from your home as possible. In a perfect world, the box would be in a different city. This is something that residents of nearby cities can do on occasion.
ADVANTAGES: You avoid disclosing your address. Moreover If you travel within the same location, the incoming mail will follow you. While on vacation, mail will not accumulate at your home mailbox, signaling that the residents are not present, while protecting your mail from criminals.
DISADVANTAGES: The main downside is the process of obtaining a PO Box. Prior to the US Patriot Act, a PO box was a practical way to maintain your privacy (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001). That has shifted. Thus: Two forms of identification, one of which must indicate your current address. (This violates the rule of never using your true name and address.) Anyone who will be receiving mail at this location must now provide two forms of identification. If you live in America, sign PS Form 1093 next to this terrifying statement: Signature of the Applicant: I confirm that all of the information provided is correct and complete. I am aware that giving inaccurate or misleading information on this form, or omitting required information on this form, may result in criminal and/or civil penalties, including fines and/or jail time. Regrettably, I am not aware of any holder who has been imprisoned for faking an application.
Alternatively, Open the box in the name of a limited liability business. Your name is Dwayne Johnson but you want to be known as John Doe. Form a “John Doe LLC.” Then rent a box in your name (select Residential/Personal Use). This is where you list the LLC. Send yourself periodic letters addressed to “John Doe LLC.” After that, you should be able to receive mail in your new name without the “LLC” ending.
When time comes for paying the annual fee, do not of course show up at the counter. Mail in a money order with the name “José L. Hernandez” as the sender.
But for advanced security, avoid CMRAs. Instead, get a PO box that isn’t connected to your current address. Use this for the following: Personal mail from family and friends Bank statements Telephone, insurance, and utility bills Social Security and Medicare.
This is something that can help you protect your family, your assets and make it harder for litigious people seeking a quick and easy buck from your hard earned work.
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