Vacation homes are often places where families spend their summers or winters, making memories for years. However, when thinking of estate planning, vacation homes aren’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind. Unfortunately, they can cause quite a headache and become a round of dispute when heirs disagree about how to manage them.
If you’re getting ready to close up your summer retreat home, it might be a good idea to sit down and think about how you might pass the asset down to the next generation; especially if you are nearing retirement, have multiple children with spouses, or are unsure of what your children’s wishes are for the future.
Below, you will find a few estate planning tips, from an estate attorney in Raleigh NC, that might help you deal with the transfer of a vacation home.
CREATE A MASTER PLAN: Before anything else, have honest conversations about whether there’s an interest in keeping the home. Sometimes finances, desires and other issues might not make it feasible for your children to keep the home. Even if the vacation home is paid for, there are taxes and maintenance costs associated with ownership.
If your children are willing to keep the vacation home, creating a master plan is the next step. Be sure to document every detail of the home’s long-term future. Also state how the home will be handed down. Be sure to include future developmental plans for the property as well.
It’s important once you get the master plan in place to visit with an estate planning lawyer. Eldreth Law Firm, PLLC, can sit down with you and go over your plan and assist in memorializing the plan.
“HANDING DOWN” the PROPERTY: A vacation home may be handed down in various ways, including by creating a limited liability company or irrevocable trust,.
It’s also possible to set up a revocable trust, while the owners are still living. Children can inherit the home with “training wheels” to see how the situation goes.
Of course, there are benefits and drawbacks to each; it’s best to consult an estate planning lawyer on which course is best for your family.
Estate Attorney Raleigh NC | An Estate Plan for Your Vacation Home
Estate attorney in Raleigh NC, Eldreth Law Firm PC are able to help you and your family plan for the future. If you’d like to schedule a consultation before creating a master plan contact us! We would be happy to sit down with you to iron out details and then meet back with the entire family to share the plan after it has been created.
Also, be sure to visit back with us for our next post as we continue with our tips for transferring a vacation home within an estate plan.
