Saving the Family Cottage: A Guide to Succession Planning for Your Cottage, Cabin, Camp or Vacation Home

Stuart Hollander, Rose Hollander, David S. Fry

NOLO, Mar 27, 2017 - Business & Economics - 232 pages

Estate planning for family cottages and cabins

When family members inherit a vacation home together, problems are often unavoidable, given that the new co-owners may have different financial circumstances or emotional attachments to the family cottage or cabin.

But you can head off damaging family squabbles by developing a legal structure (typically an LLC) to take care of the business of ownership. Whether you’re planning to pass on a cottage to your children, or you’ve inherited a cabin with your siblings, Saving the Family Cottage provides practical, legal solutions for preserving a beloved family property for generations to come. You’ll learn how to:

• keep the peace (and avoid fights) among siblings over jointly-owned property
• prevent a family member from forcing a sale of the cottage or cabin
• keep your vacation home out of the hands of in-laws and creditors, and
• make a smooth transition from one generation’s ownership to the next.
  
  

The fifth edition is updated to reflect current tax laws, including state property tax laws which affect choice of legal entity. It also includes an expanded discussion of legal issues when renting a family cottage or cabin on Airbnb, VRBO, or similar rental services.

About the author

The late Stuart Hollander was a lawyer with more than 20 years' experience helping families plan for succession of their vacation cottages.

Rose Hollander has spent more than 20 years working and living in the heart of Michigan cottage country. She was the legal assistant/paralegal in a law practice with her husband, Stuart Hollander, whose practice centered on estate planning to help families concerned about passing on vacation homes. Rose met with families, helped draft documents, and helped families administer the estate after a death. Rose graduated from Ithaca College.

David S. Fry is a Michigan attorney whose practice also focuses on real estate and estate planning, particularly succession planning for second homes. He is a fourth-generation cottage owner and regularly presents seminars around Michigan on how to keep a cottage in the family. You can visit his website at http://www.cottagelaw.com.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Saving the Family Cottage: A Guide to Succession Planning for Your Cottage, Cabin, Camp or Vacation Home
• Authors: Stuart Hollander, Rose Hollander, David S. Fry
• Edition: 5, illustrated
• Publisher: NOLO, 2017
• ISBN: 1413323499, 9781413323498
• Length: 232 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Personal Finance / Taxation; Business & Economics / Real Estate / General