The end of summer is upon us, with many people closing up the summer cottage, and—with wistful backward glances—returning to the hubbub of everyday life.  But those happy summer memories, and looking forward to next summer, will keep us going through the winter.  And so, to conclude our series on real estate protection and investments, we offer you this article by Sylvia Hsieh on how to keep that treasured vacation property in the family for future generations.

Hsieh accurately points out in her article that in order to keep a property intact and available to ALL your children and grandchildren, care must be taken now to avoid confusion and arguments later.  One of the best ways to keep a property available for many beneficiaries is to hold it in trust, with one person (or group of people) serving as trustee, managing the property according to your instructions.  This is not the only option, however, and our office can tell you if a trust is right for you, or if your family might benefit from holding property in an LLC or FLP instead.

One of the most important points Hsieh makes in her article is that this issue isn’t an issue exclusive to wealthy families.  Your vacation home doesn’t have to be a mansion in the Hamptons.  Many middle-class families have a small cabin, a piece of undeveloped property in the woods, or even a timeshare, which serves as the setting for countless happy family vacation memories.

Your children and grandchildren can continue the traditions you’ve begun if you take care to protect your investment now.  Let our office help you preserve your vacation property for future generations—and future memories.

This week’s blog series has focused on real estate and how your estate planning attorney can help you leverage and protect it.  But we know that many homeowners right now aren’t concerned so much with protecting their property, but protecting themselves—from the effects of falling home prices.  If you are one of these homeowners, this post is for you.

Craig Gustafson describes in his article how one San Diego, CA resident found relief by asking county officials to reassess the value of his property in order to lower his taxes. The result will save him $1000 annually.  This trend of reassessing property is taking hold not only in California, but all over the country (although not all residents will be as lucky as Michael Ortiz).

Before you run to your phone to call your assessor, Deborah Gates asks us in her article to remember that lowered assessments can have far-reaching results not only for you, but for your entire community.  One of those effects includes a lower assessable base from which counties can draw income, which could result in a rise in county taxes. Another effect, which is more personal, is that when your house is valued at a lower price, you lose the credit you have to your name, and which banks are willing to let you borrow against.

If after reading both of these articles, you still feel that a new assessment is the right step for you, Elizabeth Brokamp has some advice that can make the assessment process go a little more smoothly.  Brokamp includes some excellent tips in her article, but one thing she leaves out is that you can ask for help from professionals who know the process.  This is one of those situations when experience can make all the difference.

However, if all these articles only tell us one thing, it should be that assessing your property is anything but a quick and simple fix.  Before taking action it is always helpful to get the advice of the advisors you know and trust, including your estate planning attorney. Remember, although the property is yours, you don’t have to do it alone.

One of the main ways that wealthy families accumulate and keep wealth is through real estate.  Despite the year-to-year ups and downs of the real estate market, the value of real property continues to grow over the long term.

Real estate is often considered a comparatively easy way to maintain and grow wealth because it doesn’t require the kind of daily attention—or stress!—that a business demands.  Depending on the type of property, real estate typically requires duties that are annual or month-to-month, such as maintaining the physical structures, paying property taxes, making insurance payments, getting updates from property managers, and the like.

What real estate investors might be slow to realize is that property ownership carries with it significant liability risks.  Unless the precautionary measures are taken, one small misstep can result in the loss of all your real estate holdings.  Imagine it, one person slips and falls in front of one of your properties, and suddenly ALL of your holdings are at risk.

Preventing this kind of mess is not as difficult as you might think—for example, putting each of your properties in its own separate legal entity is one technique that can be used to protect all of your properties (and yourself) from lawsuits. Our firm can help you with this and other asset protection techniques.

We know how important it is to keep your family and your finances safe, and we are dedicated to helping you achieve that security.  Call our office and let us tell you how we can put our expertise to use for your benefit.

Real estate plays an extremely large role in the estate planning process.  As mentioned in previous posts, your home (or other real estate holdings) often forms the bulk of your assets, and figures largely in the creation of your family’s estate plan.  But real estate can serve as far more than just the cornerstone of your estate plan, especially if you have property aside from your family home.

In the current downswing of the real estate market, many people are finding that holding on to unproductive property is becoming a financial hardship.  And yet they are reluctant to sell the property at a loss.  Enid Ablowitz, in her article Giving the Gift of Real Estate, has some excellent suggestions on how to get the most out of property that no longer serves your family or your business, including giving the property as a charitable donation, transferring the property into a charitable “lead” trust, and keeping the property in a retained life estate.

Ablowitz suggests in her article that unproductive property can be turned into an asset when used as a charitable gift.  In fact, Ablowitz writes, “When there is charitable intent, there are many scenarios where a gift of property can also be tax-wise.”

If you think you might like to look further into leveraging your property—for charitable purposes or otherwise—your estate planning attorney can help.  Our office can answer your questions about the tax advantages of making a charitable donation of property, or alternatively of keeping the property, but holding it in a separate protective entity such as an LLP or FLP.

When considering your estate, your property is likely your greatest asset.  Let our firm help you decide how to make the most of your property, whether you choose to leverage it now or keep it safe for the future.