Attorney writes book that guides families so problems avoided

Stuart Hollander and wife, Rose

Pick a home on Glen Lake, any home, and see if this scenario could be representative of its owners should they be named Andy, Bob and Carol.

Mom and dad bought the place decades ago, but have since passed on. Inheriting the place are Andy, Bob and Carol. Andy is the oldest, lives 400 miles away and has three sons himself.

Bob is 51, single and affluent.

And Carol is less well off than her siblings, perhaps because she made a conscious decision earlier in life to work in Leelanau County.

“She has to take care of the cottage most of the time — and resents that,” said Suttons Bay attorney Stu Hollander.

Hollander used a version of that scenario in his just-released book, that was based on his experiences dating back to 1993. That was the year he filed a “partition” lawsuit for a client who had had enough of the family cottage. She wanted to move her share of beach frontage into a bank account.

At the time, there was little written in practical terms to help families navigate through legal, financial and personal obstacles in the way of preserving an heirloom that through the years had turned into a fortune.

And so Hollander set to work compiling his two decades plus of experience in the field into a 230-page paperback that is being released this week.

Its title is Saving the Family Cottage, A Guide to Succession Planning.

The book should be especially popular in cottage-rich Leelanau County.

“I’m pretty optimistic about how well the book will do. But I’m also optimistic by nature,” said Hollander, who practices law in the former Suttons Bay railroad depot just off M-22 on the south side of the village.

Early indications are that sales will be strong, said his wife, Rose, who as her husband's publisher lined up a mostly local team to move the writing from a text file to book form to book stores. Deborah Wyatt Fellows, publisher of Traverse Magazine and a Cedar resident, wrote a forward for the book. Lori Hall Steele, who authored most of the Leelanau Visitors Guide, edited the book.

“We had a great team,” said Rose Hollander. “It almost became a goal to see how much I could get done in Michigan. The talent here is spectacular.”

Stuart Hollander has gained a reputation as an expert on cottage law, which is helping spur interest in the book. His views have been parlayed into stories about passing down second homes within families published in Crain’s Chicago Business, the Grand Rapids Press and in the June 11 edition of Business Week.

Appropriately enough, Saving The Family Cottage will be available at a book release party from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 5, at the Cottage Book Store in Glen Arbor. The building that houses the Cottage Book Store is more than 100 years old, and was the first resort cabin built on Glen Lake. It was later moved to 5989 Lake Street. Book signings are also planned for Thursday, July 12, at Horizon Books in Traverse City, and Saturday, July 14, at Leelanau Books in Leland.

Copies also will be available for sale online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble web sites, and at the Hollander-owned depot south of town.

Hollander is hoping to help families heading off squabbles before they grow serious. He believes estate planners are often ill equipped to handle questions asked by cottage owners.

“Estate planners, I think, always cringe when they hear you have a cottage,” said Hollander.

In the book, Hollander urges owners of cottages to plan for the day they will no longer head up the family. That means having frank discussions.

“A lot of parents blithely assume that all their kids want a share of the cottage,” said Hollander.

Just as often, he said, one of more of the siblings would rather cash out, which is a problem when a little cottage on Lake Leelanau bought for $50,000 is now valued closer to $1 million.

Without planning, the sibling who wants out may have to force the sale of the property to be paid.

One tool Hollander promotes is turning ownership of the cottage over to a “limited liability corporation,” or LLC, which identifies how the property will be managed after mom and dad are gone.

Hollander said provisions are often included allowing a family member to cash out — but only at a discounted price which can be paid by other family members in annual installments.

“If mom feels strongly she wants to keep the cabin in the family, she can put a large discount in for cashing out,” said Hollander.

He used a series of parables in the book to explain how different families may want to set up their LLCs. A glossary helps define legal terms that families will encounter, and a bibliography directs them to other publications they may find useful.

The book comes full circle to Hollander’s first encounter with cottage law in which his client had no other options than to file a partition lawsuit. Family members have not spoken to each other since.

“They (disagreements over the family cabin) are as emotionally draining as divorce. The words ugly and bitter come to mind,” said Hollander.

The worst of the disagreements, according to Saving the Family Cottage, can be avoided by planning ahead.