You and your spouse have a beach house or a vacation home that you have taken the children to over the years. It’s a special place for your family, so you want to leave it to them in your estate plan.
Certainly, your heirs may be thrilled about this plan, as the property will have great financial and sentimental value. But there are some issues that sometimes arise. Below are two things that you want to keep in mind when you’re creating this plan.
Is it affordable?
First and foremost, some heirs will find that inheriting another property just isn’t affordable. One woman had to renovate the vacation property that was left to her by her parents, so she had to pay for the renovation as well as all of the other costs of owning two properties at once.
Maintenance, upkeep, loan payments, and tax payments can all be very expensive. It may be wise to carefully consider your heirs’ financial situation, as younger generations tend not to have as much disposable income as older generations did at the same age.
Do they want it?
Another thing to do is simply to discuss this decision – and your estate plan – with your heirs. The majority of people actually don’t tell their heirs what they’re leaving them, often saying that it “is none of their business.”
You can take that approach if you’d like, but talking with them in advance gives you a chance to ask if they want the property, who wants to be involved, if joint ownership is necessary, how costs will be covered and much more.
Once you’ve had these conversations, it’s important to get an estate plan in place. Be sure you know about all the steps to take.
