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It’s summertime and if you’re fortunate enough to own a vacation home, you’re likely there, adding more memories of pontoon boat rides, fish fries and Fourth of July celebrations. But if you
see those traditions continuing long after you’re gone, you’d better find out whether your children have the same plan—and then put it in writing. If you don’t, trouble ahead could spell
the end of your family legacy. “For many families, the family cottage is one of the most valuable assets that mom and dad own,” says David Fry, coauthor of _Saving the Family Cottage_ and a
senior partner at Rockford, Mich.-based law firm Blakeslee, Fry and Scales, which specializes in cottage succession law and planning. According to the 2000 Census, there are more than 3.5
million vacation homes in the country, many of them handed down from parents to children. The issue, Fry explains, is that some siblings see a cottage as part of the family heritage and want
to hang on to it at any reasonable cost, while others view it as an economic asset to quickly turn into cash. Without a cottage succession plan in place, ownership goes to all children
equally—and the result is almost always conflict. Worst-case scenario: One sibling would rather have cash over a share in the cottage and the other siblings are unable to produce the buyout
lump sum without selling it. “I have clients where siblings aren’t even speaking to each other anymore,” he adds. “In many cases, I’m hired as much as a family counselor and mediator because
the lines of communication have become so fractured that it’s impossible to do anything.” A SUCESSION PLAN Making a plan can be complicated, especially when multiple marriages are involved.
Valerie Atkin, 58, and Russell Pitts, 62, were newlyweds in 2001 when they purchased a cottage in Saugatuck, Mich. They immediately considered the future impact that the property—a
two-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage with a 400-square-foot guest house—might have on their adult children from their first marriages. The couple was determined to ensure the property wouldn’t
bring discord among the children later on. Atkin had just lost her mother and had seen disagreements firsthand over items worth much less than a piece of real estate.