Articles Tagged with Vacation Home

As the weather starts to get warmer, people begin planning for their summer vacations plans. For those individuals with a vacation, or second, home, these vacation plans might seem easier. There are many benefits to owning a vacation home: always having a place to stay and long-lasting family memories. However, there are detriments on the estate planning front that come from having a vacation home if individuals do not plan accordingly. Below are ways to incorporate vacation homes into estate plans, so families are prepared for the future.

Deciding What to Do with the Property After You Pass Away

When it comes to vacation homes, one critical aspect of the estate planning process is to decide what to do with the property after the owner dies. For most individuals, this will be leaving the property to someone else in their will. If they decide to gift the property, owners should think carefully about who they wish to receive per the will. Many times, parents will want to give the home to their children. But this can be more complicated when they want to gift it to all of their children, rather than a single individual.

Front porchMake a detailed plan for the home's future to avoid family feuds down the road.

Many memories are made in family vacation homes, and a lot of families do not want those traditions to end when a loved one passes. However, experts say you need to be careful in planning so the home's future isn’t the source of feuding. The biggest mistake owners can make is to fail to make a detailed plan for the home's future, cautions a recent Kiplinger's Retirement Report article titled "How to Pass Down a Vacation Home."

 If an owner says “I don't care, I won't be here,” it rarely leads to a happy result. As we always say, besides honesty, communication is the best policy. Owners should meet with their adult children and spouses to create a plan for either keeping the vacation house in the family or selling it. Families can also get help from an experienced estate planning lawyer to develop ideas and plans.

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