Saving the Family Cottage: A Guide to Succession Planning for Your Cottage, Cabin, Camp or Vacation Home

Now published by Nolo, in Saving the Family Cottage, attorneys Stuart Hollander and David Fry explain why problems arise when a vacation home is passed on to the next generation (unequal wealth distribution among siblings and cousins being the usual culprit) and offer practical suggestions on how to address this problem. Hollander suggests how to incorporate succession planning for a vacation home into an estate plan and gives practical advice on such things as which entity is best for succession planning, how to develop a cottage schedule, what to do about an owner who fails to pay his or her assessment, whether to establish an 'endowment,' and how to allocate control between and within generations of owners. Although Hollander uses the term 'cottage,' the principles of his book apply to any property that a family wants to retain. Written for the vacation home owner but with information that also will be useful to attorneys and financial planners, the book engages the reader with stories of cottage 'wars' and planning gone awry. The book makes a complex problem understandable and offers methods to help keep a second home in the family for generations. The second edition acknowledged the addition of David S. Fry, Esq. to the book and as the successor to the author's cottage law practice. The updated third edition is now published by Nolo and will be revised to include the latest regarding state and federal laws, including estate tax information.

The original author, the late Stuart Hollander, was a lawyer with more than 20 years’ experience helping families plan for succession of their vacation cottages. David S. Fry, is a Michigan attorney whose practice also focuses on real estate and estate planning, particularly succession planning for second homes. He is a fourth generation cottage owner and regularly presents seminars around Michigan on how to keep a cottage in the family.