The family vacation home can be the repository of years of treasured family memories; it can also be a family’s downfall. When parents are making plans to leave a family vacation home to their adult children, it can be easy to assume that the memories of the good times and the beauty of the surroundings are enough to ensure that all will be tranquil. Or at least memories, beauty, and tax planning will surely be enough?
In fact, adult siblings never lead identical lives: their priorities, their financial resources, and their personal commitments vary. Their relationship to the property varies, too: one may have visited the vacation home every year for decades, while another has not seen it for decades. Some have a a strong emotional attachment to the property, while others have very little. For blended families, the situation is even more complicated.
Families involved in estate planning or in managing and maintaining a family vacation home often struggle to communicate and plan effectively. Facilitated family meetings or family wealth mediation can help to prevent conflicts or to resolve them if they occur.
