Their fond memories exuberate, like a family cottage, charm and comfort.

Leave a legacy of integrity and good will. Defining the family cottage means: joy, relaxation, summer skies that go on forever, walks along the beach, skipping stones, bonfires, children laughing, our chocolate and yellow labs running through the water, fireflies, good friends, serenity and peace.

Experiencing the cottage life brings you closer to the wonder of God’s beauty. You wish it would go on forever. We spent summers, it seems for a lifetime, in northern Michigan. Our twins, now 15, were two and our 18-year-old at the time was four. Since teens are very enduring and unique, I decided to ask them to define the word “cottage.” One of the twins responded with, “a house by a lake where you hang out on the beach.” The cottage, he stated, would be by a town with good places to go, and good people to see. The other twin described a cottage as nice, quiet and beautiful. He remembered swimming, tubing behind the boat, and our dogs running on the beach. Our 18-year-old described a cottage as something on the water.

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“As reported by the Detroit Free Press (see article below) there is unprecedented opportunity for those who have dreamed of owning a vacation home, cottage or cabin to make that dream come true.

After the purchase is completed, furniture moved in and the first family barbeque is voted a success – and cleaned up after, and your children and/or grandchildren are nursing their first sunburn of the summer season, what’s next?

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Why should your cottage be in jeopardy and need saving? Cottage-Law.com expert Dan A. Penning has invaluable strategies to pro-actively plan how to protect your cottage first and secure its future. Why risk an emergency rescue plan when you can plan to avoid the crisis with a cottage succession plan?

The Right Legal Entity for Your Cottage

Circumstances need to be evaluated for each family and cottage property. There are a few special cases where keeping your cottage under direct real estate ownership is the simple solution to a complex situation. Two cottage planning solutions which should be examined, and discussed with your cottage law attorney, are Life Estates and the Ownership Agreement.

Dan Penning examines each aspect of your estate and cottage property including strategies to employ to avoid uncapping cottage property taxes. The advantage you gain using a cottage law expert is knowing you will have created a flexible legal entity to fulfill your hopes and dreams of protecting, preserving and saving your family cottage for use by all future generations.

How We Hold Title to Real Estate Ownership

There are two ways to hold title to real estate:

• directly, or
• indirectly

Direct Ownership
Real Estate Law governs the rights and duties of “direct owners”. The granting of these rights and how real estate laws impose duties on direct owners often surprise cottage owners. It’s real estate law surprises which put the family cottage at risk. Real estate laws of direct ownership do not promote keeping the cottage in the family for multiple generations, and the threat of partition and turmoil always exist.

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Cottage Planning Solutions

The Penning Group recommends moving your cottage from direct ownership to indirect ownership. A Limited Liability Company-based Cottage Succession Plan provides maximum protection for:

• you
• your family
• the family cottage

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First Steps Cottage Succession Planning

First, ask your child, or children, if they want a share of the cottage. They may not want a share of the family cottage and there could be a variety of reasons. Each should be explored for passing on to them an alternative value of their share of the family cottage.

The best way to protect your family cottage is to move it away from the hazards of “direct ownership” being governed by real estate laws. We recommend moving the family cottage from direct ownership to “indirect ownership” and for a Limited Liability Company which is governed by Entity Laws rather than Real Estate Laws.

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Every kid should roast a marshmallow by a fire next to the lake, paddle a canoe, catch a fish, dive off a raft, skip stones and and eat an ice cream cone or a freshly made donut from a local food shack which opens every summer for cottage visitors.

Your Cottage Property Could be At Risk
Each summer is a chance to create family memories of good times all over again. You’ve spent a lifetime of summers at the family cottage. Your family memories live there and it’s the only place where laughter replaces ringing phones, the sun is your only clock, and keeping sand out of your shoes and picnic basket is the challenge of the day.

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