I found your article very informative. My husband and his brother were joint tenants with rights to sole survivorship on a piece of property in Marquette, Michigan. My brotherinlaw died in Nov. We just got the tax bill and the taxes had increased so I called them inquiring as to why. They then discovered that they had made an error and instead of just taking off the homestead tax deduction, they should have uncapped the value of the property, thus our taxes increased from $500.00 to $1800.00 due to mileage, etc. They claimed that there was a transfer of ownership which allows them to uncap the property’s taxes. Can you tell me if there has been a decision made in this case and if you think it would apply to our situation? Thank you for your time.

It’s about this time of the year when I really begin to miss my aunt’s cottage in Leland, Michigan. It’s on the north end of Lake Leelanau and it’s a great place to spend a couple of weeks every summer. Sometimes we can get up there during the winter.

I love our cottage community and walking around in the “Fishtown” village of Leland. We usually get an ice cream cone at the Harbor House and walk around and shop a little and look in all the windows of the stores. One thing I’ve always loved about being in Leland in the summertime and walking around downtown is how there are huge groups of families all moving around together, laughing and tripping over each other’s feet while trying not to fall over the latest baby stroller added to the party!

There is always a great sense of family and togetherness when we are there.

Sometimes the people at Stander Marine will let us look at some of the classic Chris Craft boats in their marina. They are real beauties and always a throw back in time to watch one cruise up and down the Leland River. They are the tradition of families up there.

We usually head down to the Leland Marina in the evenings to watch the sunset over the Manitou Islands. You know, you can always pretty well predict we’re going to have a great time at my aunt’s cottage, but you can never predict how the sky over Lake Michigan will look when the sun starts to set. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful sunsets up there over Lake Michigan from the park at the Leland Marina.

Thanks for letting me share some of my favorite family vacation memories here. I can hardly wait to get back to northern Michigan and Leland!

B. Baer