Week In Review

Dow Touches 40K – Are Consumers Happy?

A “decent” inflation report sparked a market rally, but did the rally extend to the bond and housing markets? Annex Wealth Management’s Dave Spano and Brian Jacobsen discuss, and talk about our latest inflation guide, available at annexwealth.com/inflation.

In Case You Missed It

Understand Your WRS Pension Potential

Estate Planning

Estate Planning For Your Vacation Property

An estate plan is intended to provide for the distribution of ALL your assets upon your death. Therefore, if you have completed your estate plan, your vacation home is covered. Sometimes there are unique issues or situations that need to be addressed when planning for the generational transfer of a vacation property that are beyond the scope of a standard estate plan. 

Unlike investments, real estate cannot be easily divided among multiple beneficiaries. Beneficiaries can end up as co-owners with each other. Co-ownership can work out great, but it can also turn into a nightmare for families that disagree on usage, maintenance, and payment of expenses.

Here’s a checklist of things to consider and plan for when there is a vacation property to transfer to the next generation as part of your estate plan. 

Most important is discussing who wants the property. We work with clients who assume that all their beneficiaries want a share of the property, which may not be true. Some may end up with their own vacation property, so they no longer have an interest in receiving a share of a property from their parents. Other times, beneficiaries may not want the additional expenses associated with owning a second property. 

Once you have a handle on who will ultimately receive the property, you need to contemplate how and if you should equalize the inheritance among those that do not want it. Your financial plan will have a significant impact on your ability to do so. Most often, the property is transferred upon the owners’ death; however, you could also contemplate whether you want to transfer it while you are alive. 

The who and when is often the easier part of the plan, as things get more difficult when we start planning around the rules of use, maintenance, expenses, and management.  

You may want to develop rules for equal usage among family, specifically addressing holidays, to avoid disputes. How the ongoing expenses, maintenance, and renovation costs are to be paid needs to be outlined as part of the rules. Will you provide seed money along with the property or are the new owners expected to contribute and share expenses? What are the consequences if one member uses the property but fails to pay their share? 

Finally, you should consider the possibility of sale among the family members, as people may no longer want to continue their ownership after a few years. If so, it is important to establish how a sales price would be set and who can purchase.  

The ownership structure is also an important aspect to consider. Will family members be joint owners? Will it be held in a trust or a Limited Liability Company (LLC)? The structure can help organize the rules. Often, the rules will be outlined in either a trust agreement or ownership agreement among family members.   

While there is no one right answer for every family, as each property and situation are unique, it is important to have good family conversations about these issues to make sure everyone understands the goals and rules so when the time comes there is less conflict that can arise. 

This Week

WEBINAR | 5/22/2024 | Gift of Education – Understanding 529 Plans & New Options

Events & Webinars

Annex Wealth Management provides free workshops, open to the public, on key wealth management topics.