A legacy property could be that special cottage on the lake, a cabin in the woods, that favorite hunting site or fishing hole. One thing all of these properties have in common is that they are a favorite of your family and they want to keep it in the family for future generations. Often families are torn apart when siblings fight over ownership or use of that special family place.
The focus of Legacy or Cottage Planning is to work with you to help preserve your legacy property, and its cherished memories, for future generations. The goal of cottage succession planning is to establish a legal arrangement that keeps a cottage or legacy property in the family.
Simply leaving your legacy property to your heirs “in equal shares,” means that everybody must agree on every aspect of owning, maintaining and enjoying the property … despite their differing economic resources, opinions, spouses and family size. If you don’t take these differences into account when planning for the future of your family’s property, you are setting your children and/or grandchildren up for failure. What was once a beautiful memory and family sanctuary can quickly become a nightmare and a battleground. Successful legacy / cottage planning anticipates and implements legal strategies to avoid these unhappy outcomes … and preserves your family’s happy legacy for future generations.
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