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Saving the Family Cottage: A Guide to Succession Planning for Your Cottage, Cabin, Camp or Vacation Home

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Authors: Stuart Hollander, David Fry, Rose Hollander
Publisher: NOLO
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$29.99~~
Buy New: $19.79
as of 11/21/2009 04:36 PST details
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Media: Paperback
Edition: 3
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.6

ISBN: 1413310346
Dewey Decimal Number: 346.73052
EAN: 9781413310344
ASIN: 1413310346

Publication Date: May 7, 2009
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Features:

•	ISBN13: 9781413310344
•	Condition: NEW
•	Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Keep your vacation home in the family with the definitive guide to succession planning.

Now published by Nolo, Saving the Family Cottage is written in plain English by estate planning and succession attorney-experts Stuart Hollander and David S. Fry, to help you plan to pass on your vacation home and keep it in the family. Complete with real-world examples and stories of cottage "wars" gone awry, this book breaks down the essentials for passing your cottage to the next generation.

Find out how to:

figure out which estate planning entity is right for you and your family

develop a cottage schedule

deal with co-owners who fail to pay their assessments

decide whether to establish an endowment

allocate control between and within generations of owners

Although the term "cottage" is used throughout, the practical advice from the authors applies to any property that a family wants to retain. With information for owners, attorneys and financial planners, this guide to succession planning makes a complex problem understandable and offers concrete solutions to what can be a delicate family matter.

The 2nd edition acknowledged the addition of Attorney David S. Fry as an author of the book and successor to the author's cottage law practice. The updated 3rd edition is now published by Nolo and has been revised to include the latest state and federal rules that apply to vacation home owners, including fully up-to-date estate tax information.

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 1-5 of 43

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Just what I needed October 14, 2009
N. Berry (USA)
Having two different camps owned by multiple family members in my immediate family, this book was very informative of some of the pros and cons of different ways of managing and transitioning ownership.

One of my goals for 2010 is to put into action a more formal plan for the ownership of these camps. Some of the issues (scheduling, renting, etc) have not been issues for us to date, but could be down the road.

What could sound like a very dry topic reads VERY easily, of course if it's something that you have or will have to deal with.

1 out of 5 stars

Hated it September 30, 2009
K. E. Steelman (Dacula, GA United States)
I have been involved recently with Trustees, Estates and Lawyers, so I have read a lot of books on boring and dry subjects to place myself in a position of knowledge of how to deal with wills and trusts. As my parents and relatives age and die, this has become an uncomfortable legacy of paperwork and familial tug-of-wars that are at best sorrowful and at worst the initiator of migraines. I looked at this book as a possible way to avoid some of the end-fighting that inevitably comes with the break up and distribution of property and wealth. No such luck....

The book was rambling and convoluted and lacked concise and easily followed methods to setting up (in this case) the family cottage. I was in hopes that what I learned from this book, I could apply to other family shared heirlooms or property. This book was full of scenarios of "what if", but lacked the clear cut advice that I would have liked to have gotten from a legal individual. In short, it was more confusing than my lawyer and just as long winded. Only good thing is that I wasn't paying for this book by the hour.

Bottom line is that I am still looking for my reference book on the subject of setting up the family cabin on the lake before mom and dad die.... My advice is that you should keep looking too.

4 out of 5 stars

Good Overview of the Major Issues September 24, 2009
E. Moscato (New York)
Another good NOLO book. As with other NOLO books one must understand that no book can provide the answer to every question related to a specific area with many nuances. One must consult an attorney with any specific questions; particularly with this topic as there are so many moving parts. However, this book gives an overview of the broad issues in simple English that most can comprehend and it will help one assess the situation they are faced with and know the right questions to ask. This is well worth the cost of book and the time invested in reading it.

I like the idea of holding most real estate that is not one's primary residence in the form of an LLC and this book offers insight on why this form of ownership often makes sense in this instance.

4 out of 5 stars

The Cabin in the Woods, Inc. September 18, 2009
John W. Pearson (San Clemente, CA, USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Yikes! I don't own a cottage, and after reading the table of contents, I wrote myself a memo NOT to buy a cottage--at least with anyone else.

But...I have enjoyed staying at the cottages of friends and families and it has always intrigued me how they worked out the finances, scheduling and ultimately "who gets what" when someone loses interest or passes from this earth.

This is an excellent book. While it's thorough, it's not tedious. It's highly informative, yet readable.

The authors hooked me early on with their "Time for a Plan" reasoning with a point, "The Reason," and the counterpoint, "The Reality."

Example:
THE REASON: "Unwillingness to make the required effort or to incur the expense of developing a plan."

THE REALITY: "Founder-developed plans generally cost less than heir-developed plans because the founders (usually a married couple) are more likely to see eye-to-eye than their children. If you are giving them the cottage, finish the job and give them a plan to ensure they enjoy the cottage too."

"Hey, I'll be dead. It's not my problem," is another reason. That's both selfish and stupid. Buy the book!

4 out of 5 stars

Saving the Family Cottage - A Very Well Laid Out, Albeit High Level, Treatment of Real Estate Succession September 17, 2009
Mark (East Coast)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

Saving the Family Cottage: A Guide to Succession Planning for Your Cottage, Cabin, Camp or Vacation Home is a very readable book about real estate law. Although the book focuses on second homes and vacation homes, the principles contained within this book could be applied to any kind of real estate that somebody wishes to leave to more than one heir. This is the third edition of what has apparently been a very successful book. Unfortunately, the "About The Authors" section indicated that Stuart J. Hollander passed away before this printing. This book is a testament to the importance of planning the legacy one plans to leave behind.

The principal concerns the author tries to address is that inheritance results in each heir with an interest in the property becoming a tenant-in-common. Each of them can wreak havoc on the potential for the estate to be passed down to future generations, and the remedies proposed by the authors are geared towards eliminating the possibilities for unreasonable individuals to put their wants and needs above those of the family.

The author makes no bones about advocating for the use of the LLC as the optimal method for transference of real estate to multiple heirs. At times, this narrow focus is harder to accept. But there is plenty of reasoning throughout to make one understand that the authors have sound reasons for advocating for this structure. Unfortunately, the treatment of the risks and pitfalls of LLCs are not treated nearly enough.

Similarly light treatment is given to some other potentially serious issues. I am glad to have learned about dower interests that may be acquired by spouses in certain states. It would have been nice to learn which states had those concerns. While the author mentions several community property states in passing, a simple appendix outlining legal concerns applicable across states would have added a lot more weight to the treatment.

THE AUTHORS MAKE THIS TOPIC ACCESSIBLE

As far as books about real estate law go, this book's best asset other than solid organization is probably it's accessibility. It includes some of the most enjoyable passages I have had the pleasure to read on legal topics.

The early sections that discuss the potential scenarios that could come about from a lack of succession planning are both disturbing and humorous. That makes this book very readable and strangely entertaining compared to similar texts. Truthfully, the consequences of poor estate planning are rarely funny, but for those with a dark sense of humor it's difficult not to laugh. The first example for rule number 7, "A tenant in common is not responsible for reimbursement for improvements," is a particularly funny example that illustrates how to breathe life into legal risks. Nearly all of the examples in Chapter 5 are funny, and the more serious ones will definitely grab your attention.

That helps to make the book readable, but they quickly return to more serious discussions. As the book goes into the actual details of structuring and running a cottage LLC, it abandons all of the humorous anecdotes from the earlier sections.

CONCLUSION

In certain ways, this is a very difficult book to rate. I like the book overall but it is impossible not to notice that the very narrow treatment of this topic will beg many questions. The author's blanket advice is to seek out the assistance of a lawyer in reviewing and drafting all cottage plans and operating agreements. The author's focus on the LLC as the preferred vehicle for cottage succession also leaves some of the alternatives covered too lightly. The rules regarding the formation and operation of LLCs vary greatly across states. There is very little guidance given about which states are particularly onerous and what the tax implications are for choosing one entity over another. It take the author until Chapter 15 to dive into tax issues, and they are largely focused on the narrow topic of exclusions and exemptions. This is complicated further as these laws may change within the next year or two. Once again, they suggest seeking the services of an accountant. But for such an esoteric area, it would have been nice had a little more foundation been included.

Still, I do genuinely like this book and I wish that there were more details. Yet a book does not need to be completely comprehensive to be useful. As long as one reads this knowing that is an introduction and not a complete guide, there is a lot of value to be derived from this book. So this book is recommended, keeping those reservations in mind.

Enjoy.

Showing reviews 1-5 of 43

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