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Addressing family real estate in estate planning

On Behalf of | Aug 27, 2018 | Estate Planning |

A home’s value can go far beyond just how much it is worth monetarily. Such property can also have a great deal of emotional value in a family. For example, things like a long-time family home, a vacation home or a family farm can have all kinds of positive memories and feelings attached to them.

So, such property can hold a very high place of importance within a family. Unfortunately, it could also be a source of conflict and problems for family members after a loved one’s death. So, careful estate planning can be very important for individuals when it comes to property they own that their family has a strong connection to.

It can be critical to have honest discussions with one’s family about the future passing on of such property. This can help create accurate expectations and also allow a person to have a clear idea of how much his or her family members actually want the property to stay in the family. This could help reduce the chance of future conflicts, problems and unwanted surprises.

Now, a person can have many options for passing a family property onto the next generation. Examples include:

  • Transferring ownership of the property to family members during one’s lifetime
  • Passing the property on upon one’s death through a will
  • Putting the property into a trust
  • Putting the property into an LLC or other business entity

These different methods vary in what kinds of legal issues they raise, what family conflicts could potentially come up in connection to them and what mechanisms for trying to prevent future family conflict over a property can be included in them. So, when coming up with a plan for how to pass on a cherished family property, it can be important for a person understand how well-suited the different estate planning options available would be for his or her goals and family situation. Estate planning lawyers can assist such individuals with their efforts to find the right fit.