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Showing posts from June, 2011

Your Cottage & Estate Plan

Thursday, June 9, 2011 Introduction. ... Your Home, Your Cottage, Your Estate Plan ... I f you own a home and a cottage, at some point you will have to decide how to handle these properties in your estate plan. Do you sell your cottage during your lifetime or through your will? Do you give it to your children this year or later or not at all? How do you minimize income taxes and probate fees? And, how do you fund these costs. There is no one-solution-fits-all approach to answering these questions; however, this discussion will explain the issues you need to consider in order to make the right decision for you. To understand the financial consequences and options available, let's start with a common situation. You and your spouse own a home where you live most of the year, but you also spend time at a cottage which you own. You have adult children and, perhaps, grandchildren. Like most real estate the value of these properties has increased over time, and i