Passing It On : The Inheritance and Use of Summer Houses

A sociological study of the issues involved in sharing the inheritance of summer houses, Passing It On fills a critical niche in the literature on estate planning. It focuses on the family dynamics involved in sharing real property rather than on the legal issues of estate reduction, with extensive quotes from over 100 respondents, all summer-house heirs, about how they have managed to keep the property in the family over generations.

Judith Huggins Balfe is Professor Sociology at the City University of New York, at two of its units: The College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center. Her many publications focus on the sociology of the arts and culture, in which she examines one of the primary themes of this book: the conflict between price and value, between market forces and what people find most meaningful. In analyzing the connections between these seeming polarities, she draws upon her experience as a co-owner of a summer house in Nantucket -- the basis of this extended study.