Escaping State Robbery—Shielding Your Assets and Defying Government Control with Fictitious Entities

Are there state systems which can help counter-economists effectively opt-out of the coming Technocratic State?

As an investigative journalist and agorist, I’ve spent years uncovering ways for individuals to break free from government dependency—particularly in the areas of taxation (robbery) and asset protection. Agorism, at its core, isn’t about “working within” the system; it’s about creating parallel structures that render government systems unnecessary. Through counter-economics and building alternatives outside state control, agorism seeks to replace the need for reliance on government altogether. The tools I share here aren’t about surrendering to the state’s rules. Instead, they involve using entities that protect us from the state’s grasp—entities that act on our behalf while remaining legally disconnected from us.

As blasphemous as what I say next may sound, I feel compelled to share it anyway and explore what can be done within the system to protect ourselves. Many anarchists, like my dear friend Adam Kokesh, own off-grid land, just like I do, and not long ago, he managed to gain property tax exemption by forming a church. That got me thinking—there are many ways to shield ourselves and limit our interactions with government by using the system itself in areas where we have little choice, like license plates, property taxes, and other unavoidable requirements. I recently purchased my own off-grid property after decades of living an agorist lifestyle, avoiding the banking and credit systems for over 25 years, and saving every penny I could spare to afford my own little private paradise, which is still a work in progress.

Over the years, I’ve observed the power of opting out of state systems, a strategy that’s served me well for decades. Yet in my work, I’ve also interviewed people who successfully use these legal constructs—fictitious entities like trusts, LLCs, and nonprofit churches—to operate effectively outside the state’s reach. These aren’t just theories; they are sound, viable strategies that we can use every day. This approach blends seamlessly with my principles, because while we may be setting up legal entities on paper, these entities are tools for shielding our autonomy from the state. They function as tools to protect assets and secure independence from state interference.

Fighting Fictitious Entities with Fictions of Our Own

The government itself is a fictitious entity, an elaborate legal construct designed to control individuals through contracts, statutes, and assumed authority. As individual people, we are at a disadvantage if we confront it head-on; it’s a monolith with boundless resources and legal shields that work to preserve its power. But if we engage with it through our own fictitious entities, we shift the balance. By establishing private trusts, LLCs, and other entities, we interact with the state on our own terms, meeting its fictitious constructs with our own and allowing these entities to act on our behalf.

Think of it as a way to decentralize yourself legally. For example, a private trust isn’t just a convenient way to hold assets; it’s a legally independent entity that manages your property without tying it directly to you. When the trust holds assets like real estate, investments, or vehicles, it creates a buffer between you and the state, making it difficult for authorities to directly reach your assets. And within the trust, you can create additional entities, such as LLCs, which compartmentalize specific assets and add another layer of protection. If, say, an LLC holds a vehicle and that vehicle becomes involved in a liability issue, only the assets in that LLC are affected. The rest of your holdings, kept in separate LLCs or under the trust, remain secure and untouchable by outside parties. Even if a lawsuit targets one asset, it affects only that specific LLC, which holds just a single asset and nothing more, leaving everything else you own shielded and out of reach.

This structure isn’t about “playing by the state’s rules”—it’s about building a legally recognized wall that keeps the state out. It allows your fictitious entities to deal with the state on your behalf, creating a separation between you and the machinery of government. Instead of exposing yourself, you use your own network of entities to insulate and decentralize your assets.

How to Establish Your Own Church to Avoid Property Tax 

One of the most powerful moves in this approach is using a church to legally avoid property tax. Governments have long exempted religious entities from property taxes, recognizing the sacred value such spaces hold for their communities. By establishing a church that reflects your values and beliefs, you create a recognized legal entity that can own property exempt from property taxes. This is the state’s own rulebook at work, a clause built into its framework, which we can utilize to protect our resources.

For this to work, the church must directly own the property. If you hold the property in another entity, such as an LLC or a private trust, the tax exemption could be compromised. The government (theft machine) demands clear ownership by the religious organization itself, with that organization being the direct holder of the title. So, to maximize protection and legally eliminate property taxes, you’ll want to set up a nonprofit church as a standalone entity.

Imagine this: you form a church as a nonprofit organization, creating a place based on your beliefs and values, and transfer the title of your property to the church. Now, because the church directly owns and uses the property for religious purposes, it becomes exempt from property tax. You’re taking control back from the state’s hands—exempting your property from what it considers its “rightful” tax revenue. In this way, the church becomes a legal barrier, insulating your property from the tax claims.

Using Trusts and LLCs to Further Shield Your Assets

While the church structure protects property from taxes, your other assets still need safeguarding from liabilities. This is where a private trust and LLC structure becomes essential, creating a layered fortress where each entity independently holds specific assets, isolated from liabilities that may arise from others.

The private trust acts as the central manager, establishing individual LLCs to hold assets separately. For instance, LLCs owned or managed by the trust can lease their assets to the church you’ve formed, enabling the church to use these assets for its activities while maintaining a clear separation. For example, if you have a vehicle used for church purposes, you can create an LLC to own the vehicle and have the church lease it. If any legal claim arises involving the vehicle, it impacts only that specific LLC, not the church or any other assets.

This setup also extends to properties. The LLC can purchase and own a home, with a contractual agreement to place it on the church’s property. This allows the church to use the home to house members, people who help run the church, or those receiving assistance from it. By structuring it this way, the property remains legally owned by the LLC, limiting liability exposure to that LLC while allowing the church to benefit from the home’s use for its purposes.

In practice, this arrangement forms a web of protection around your assets. Each LLC functions as an independent legal entity, meaning a lawsuit involving one asset remains confined to the LLC holding that asset, isolating liabilities and preventing a cascade effect. Each entity operates independently, safeguarding the whole while engaging with the state only as necessary.

Side Note: Assets, such as vehicles, owned by a private trust are not easily traceable to you, as the beneficiaries and trustees of a private trust are typically not publicly disclosed. If an LLC, owned by the trust, registers a vehicle, any inquiries—such as a license plate search—would return the name of the LLC rather than your personal name. This structure adds a significant layer of privacy and separation from personal identification.

Taking Control of Your Future, Independent of the State

This approach is about minimizing government influence in our lives and reducing its hold through voluntary, self-sustaining actions. Establishing a church, a trust, and LLCs to shield assets aligns perfectly with this philosophy. Rather than endorsing or supporting state intrusion, we’re using its own rules to create a barrier, distancing ourselves from its demands.

This isn’t just about securing what you have today—it’s about creating a sustainable structure for the future. A church-owned property, for example, isn’t only tax-exempt now; it can remain that way for generations as long as it serves its purpose. A trust isn’t a temporary fix; it can manage assets indefinitely, free from direct state interference. Each LLC, as its own legal entity, becomes a vehicle to acquire and manage new assets while keeping them shielded from liabilities.

For those who reject the state’s overreach and consider it fundamentally illegitimate, this strategy offers a tangible way to reclaim control. It allows you to structure your life to minimize state interference, protect personal freedom, and preserve wealth. And as the state continues encroaching on individual rights, you have a fortified foundation that keeps your assets safe, legally shielded from its grasp.

In building this fortress, you don’t just protect your property and wealth—you reclaim your sovereignty. By establishing your own church, private trust, and LLCs, you engage with the state’s system without succumbing to it. You create a structure that uses the state’s language yet defies its control—a true act of resistance that embodies independence, autonomy, and, ultimately, freedom.