Cottage Law generally refers to planning for a family cottage, cabin or other special property to be passed to subsequent genera tions. Before deciding the best method to accomplish this, several considerations should be explored and discussed with your qualified attorney. Several considerations are:
• How will the property be used? Will the property only be used by family members as residential property? Perhaps each generation will have certain rights or time limitations to use the property? Will the property be occasionally rented, perhaps on a short-term rental basis to generate income, or at least rented enough to generate income to cover the property taxes? Or, will the property be primarily or strictly used as income property, such as rented, or rented on a short-term rental basis as much as possible?
• What is the goal of ownership? Is it meant for the property to be passed down several generations? Or, is it meant for your children to use the property and then be sold, with each child’s share passing through their estate plan for the benefit of grandchildren? Or, is it meant that the last surviving child receives the property in whole, without a claim of their siblings’ estates?
