Welcome back. In a previous post, our estate attorney in Wake Forest, NC began discussing estate planning as it relates to your family vacation home. Today we'll discuss some critical steps for planning the future of your vacation home.
Estate Planning in Wake Forest Starts With Planning the Future of Your Vacation Home
By the time most families start discussing the prospect of a "vacation home," there are usually multiple families involved. Even if you take out all the grandchildren, your children have likely gotten married, so there are more opinions involved when the discussion of a vacation spot is brought up.
Owning any home with other parties, even if they’re family, can create a great deal of issues, but those issues can multiply when families start to think about their vacation time. Without certain rules in place, your children could run into a few specific issues, including:
Issues to Avoid when Planning the Future of Your Vacation Home | Estate Attorney Wake Forest
- Understanding the potential downside of owning a vacation home.
- Making sure that in-laws or friends actually want to use the vacation home regularly.
- Confirming that everyone involved understands any taxes or maintenance fees required.
- Creating a plan for cleaning up the vacation home after visits so that the burden doesn't fall on any one family member.
- Agreeing to rental terms including if the property will be rented to people beyond family members or close friends.
- Determining who can use the vacation home and when, as well as how to determine who gets the property when two siblings want the home at the same time.
It’s a good idea to confront these issues while creating your vacation home master plan. Establishing a plan upfront can eliminate a myriad of issues after your children inherit the vacation home in the future.
With that in mind, our estate attorney Wake Forest offers one significant tip for vacation home estate planning to avoid these issues. Establishing house rules and including them in your estate plan is a great way to avoid future problems.
HOUSE RULES | Estate Attorney Wake Forest
Establishing house rules is the best way to limit future problems when it comes to planning a vacation home. These rules should include being clear on time slot uses, utilities and insurance payment, cleaning, and other problems that might come about. Listing the necessary procedures of cleaning the house after every visit may also be important. It’s also important to create rules on selling of shares or what happens when a sibling can’t pay for their part of the expenses.
Estate Planning in Wake Forest | Eldreth Law Firm PC
Talking with an attorney in Wake Forest NC can help you and your family plan the future of your vacation home, without the headache and stress that could come with it. Contact Eldreth Law Firm PC for more information about our estate planning services.
