Save Your Family Camp
If you are lucky enough to have a family camp in Maine, whether it be a cottage on a lake, by the ocean, on a mountain, or deep in the woods, you know how beautiful it can be here. Since even before Maine was known as ‘Vacationland’, many families have had summer cabins in Maine that have been enjoyed for generations. As these camps are passed down to the next generation, it is not uncommon for issues of management and use of the property to arise. There may be greater demand for the use of the camp that requires scheduled time slots that need to be agreed to by many family members well in advance. Disagreements over costs, maintenance and improvements of the camp are not uncommon.
Many times family members inherit the property from their parents who always took care of the responsibilities of the camp. But often subsequent family members have different ideas as to how the property should be handled once they are the owners. Ideally these issues and problems can be addressed informally, but it is not uncommon that a formal written plan needs to be prepared. In some instances without a clear plan in place for the property, disagreements over the property can lead to the loss of enjoyment of the property by all, and even in the worst case the forced sale of the entire property.
There are several ways the owners of a camp can address potential (or existing) problems. This work can be done before the property is conveyed (as part of a succession plan), or after the camp has been passed down. Two common choices are to either place the property into a Trust, or to establish a Limited Liability Company (LLC) to hold the property. Deciding between these options will depend on the issues and problems you are looking to address with the conveyance and what best fits your current situation.
We can help resolve these issues, and understand that ofter family dynamics can be tricky. We work to reduce the stress that can be involved in these matters. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation.