Saving the Family Cottage: Creative Ways to Preserve Your Cottage, Cabin, Camp, or Vacation Home for Future Generations

Estate planning for family cottages and cabins
No matter whether you’re planning to pass on a cottage to your children, or you’ve inherited a cabin with your siblings, it’s never too early to take steps to preserve a beloved family property for generations to come. Shared ownership of vacation property―especially when the co-owners are family members―can be fraught with problems. The idyllic dream of a cottage getaway can be shattered when co-owners’ emotions, financial concerns, and opinions on how the property should be used come into play.
Fortunately, a solid plan that dictates how the property will be owned and managed can prevent squabbles over the family cottage. Saving the Family Cottage lays out a roadmap for creating and implementing this plan. It also explains the possible pitfalls of co-owing a family vacation property, and provides time-tested guidance on how to:
keep the peace among heirs
prevent a family member from forcing a sale of the property
keep your vacation home out of the hands of in-laws and creditors, and
smoothly transition ownership of the property from one generation to the next.