Your estate planning documents may include as many types of property as you wish. You could add a primary residence, vacation home or any other property to your will or trust. If you created a will, you may revise it to include a new asset and name the individual to inherit it when you die.
As noted by Cabinlife.com, you may need to learn which of your heirs could afford to maintain a second home. An heir’s ability to pay taxes and maintenance might influence your decision.
Who may care for a vacation home?
Some individuals believe they could leave a property to all their children who will then share it. Naming all heirs as owners, however, generally requires them to divide expenses equally. Maintaining the home in good condition becomes the responsibility of all the owners.
You may prefer to leave a vacation property to an heir with the means to care for and protect it from creditors. You could also choose to include funding and instructions for a trustee to manage the property for your beneficiaries.
Which trust types could manage a second property?
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance describes three trust structures that could manage vacation homes. If you wish to continue using your property, you may gift it to your heirs for a reduced value with a qualified personal residence trust.
With a living trust, you may add your home to it and manage the property up until your death as the trustee. If you wish for your heirs to use the home after you die, you may include it with instructions by creating an irrevocable trust.
Estate plans may include property located in New York or anywhere in the world. By deciding which heirs could manage your property, you may create documents for them to take ownership now or in the future.
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