Every time I watch an English movie or see a program set in England I can’t help but notice beautiful English country estates. As an attorney I look at the lavish estates and think about the right to partition and how our real estate laws are based on 600 year old laws. What does this have to do with your family cottage? Plenty. Our current real estate laws put your family cottage at risk. Why? Simply because real estate law does not promote keeping the family cottage in the family for multiple generations. It involves how the cottage is owned. Direct ownership and indirect ownership is what makes the difference. Cottage Succession Planning provides a solution to someone being able to invoke a Right to Partition. Read more about family cottage risks on our website at http://www.cottage-law.com/cottage-risks.html

Dan A. Penning

It doesn’t matter what time of day you arrive, everything always looks the same. Granted, the trees are taller and wildflowers seem to be growing everywhere. But your family cottage is the same to you today as it’s always been.

Cubby holes filled with trinkets and treasures
While waving hello to neighboring friends you realize every family cottage and summer home is as different as the memories gathered by families every summer. Each cottage has a special cubby hole filled with trinkets and treasures from sandy beaches and hiking adventures through surrounding woods. Weathered hinges guarantee screen doors will squeak open and slam shut right on cue announcing that this is summer. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment of racing down to the lake and assuming every summer will be just like the last.

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Most people would think “economic value” is the most important factor to protect the family cottage. Common “emotional value” has proven time and time again as the most important motivation behind developing a cottage succession plan to protect the family cottage.

Yes, it’s true when they say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and it’s especially true when thinking of the family cottage. Whether the family cottage is a family retreat in some stunning mountain region, or a luxurious custom built retirement home on one of the Great Lakes touching Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Ohio, Indiana or even Canada, or a small rustic cabin on a pristine lake or stream, it’s not “economic value” that is the most important factor to protect the family cottage, it’s the “emotional value.”

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AHH-teenage sleepovers make me appreciate Cottage Law Michigan all the more! Without a cottage succession plan what would these teenagers do when they get together for a sleepover? I often wonder how they do it, these teens manage to stay up late at all hours and then they proceed to sleep on top of each other like a litter of puppies. For them it is heaven bliss, for mom it is work in the making, especially when they decide to fix a morning batch of pancakes and syrup. They smile when I come in from outside saying, “Wish you would have come in sooner we could have used your help.” The bliss of boys who want to experiment in the kitchen. “Sorry we didn’t clean up after ourselves.” Lovely- but I do have to say I do love it, because I know where they are, safe and sound. Even if things are in disarray. Their laughter is infectious and they really are fun to be around!

I put on my classical music and began clean up time in the kitchen and for all of you sceptical people out there, it does work. After 10 minutes, I felt so calm, it’s amazing! So grab those iPods and download some classics, you will feel so calm that even a big clean up does not upset you. Classical music is suppose to be great for projects and studying, it boosts creativity and learning.

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Repeat after me I feel fabulous, I feel fabulous! I am terrific! I am terrific! There- I just powered you up for the day. Better yet get in front of that mirror and say it ten times over. Your family will think you are weird and your spouse might think you lost it but that’s ok- you’re doing this to increase your creativity and get excited about your day and your future. Now I want to challenge you to get up every day and look in that bathroom mirror and say hello you good looking thing you. You may get a good laugh but you are beautiful and you have great gifts to offer this world. So go with the positive side of life. See yourself with that victory. Every one of us has gifts and talents to soar to a new level. Get rid of that negative mindset. This is not part of your vision- besides it will only bring you down and others around you down. Take good care of yourself. Author Debbie Mandel in her book “Addicted to Stress: A Woman’s 7 Step Program to Reclaim Joy and Spontaneity In Life” says that people need to keep themselves in balance by making good choices with a healthy diet and exercise. ” Something as simple as walking will help.” Make sure you get plenty of sleep and if you are in a bad mood, call someone who isn’t. Instead of bringing others down, let someone lift you up. Download some uplifting music and by all means dance- it will lift your soul. Your friends may think you are strange but you just keep that positive spirit going. Who knows you may show up on YouTube as a dancing sensation. If you have never watched the “Ellen Show” take a few moments. She is always dancing and her merriment puts a spring in your step. Debbie Mandel also states to “Activate your sense of humor. We all take ourselves too seriously. Our friend Tommy is always having a good time, I can hear his laughter even when he is not around. Find someone like this who will get you laughing, and put joy back into your step. Marla Sloane, Ph.D.’s positive affirmation tip states “Happiness doesn’t mean everything is perfect, it means I look beyond the imperfections.” Nobody’s life is perfect and yes we all have those disappointments and down and out times. It is what you do with them, and your your reactions to them that counts. Find hope and joy. Quincy Jones, who is 77 years old, tells USA Today that music is culture’s most essential art. He states that his dream is to see hip-hop some how incorporated into education. “It’s the only one that engages the left and right brain simultaneously, the motion and intellect. “it’s the voice of God.” How amazingly well put. Jones just released “Q:Soul Bossa Nostra,” a sound track disc featuring A-list stars interpreting songs. I wonder what the world would be like if we all found music we enjoyed and turned that TV off. Right now Casey is singing to that song “All the Right Moves” by One Republic. He truly was blessed with a gift of song. He has great talent and he is healing his left and right brain by engaging in emotion and intellect. When you sing there is no stress. Music lifts your soul!

Bananas are a serous fat-burner. They have potassium and B vitamins. Enjoy that easy portable fruit. It comes already in its own protective skin. We keep this as a snack to go at the family cottage. Try a Conor favorite- one of our teens; a peanut butter sandwich with banana. It will give you the fuel you need to get all those to-do-list chores done. A great cancer fighting drink for this time of year is hot cocoa. This chocolate drink has more phenols and flavonoids than a glass of red wine and 1 cup of green tea. So say hello to hot coco! Chocolate is rich in antioxidants. Drink up for your health. Just one cup of hot coco has less than 1 gram of saturated fat! Remember to find the positives in life. Don’t feel bad about gossiping. In a British study (you have to love those British studies) gossiping makes you feel supported. They also discovered that whispering good things can boost yourself esteem. For example “she looks fantastic.” Don’t forget everything in moderation- you don’t want to be known as the town gossip. Stay hydrated with plenty of H20- drier air can lead to dehydration so don’t forget to stay sipping. Keep on believing in yourself and stay fantastic at the family cottage.

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“Make one person happy each day, and in forty years you will have made 14,600 human beings happy for a little time, at least.” -Charley Willey

Who can you make smile right now? That is your challenge of the day. We all need laughter in our lives. Giving people a little humor and entertainment leaves them with a good feeling of upbeat enthusiasm. It can be great for businesses, families, and friends.

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A cottage in northern Michigan is a way of life. It is a place with a purpose. It awakens the heart. There is passion and dreams at a cottage. There are water bays, beaches, bonfires, friends, family, pets, and vineyards with great wineries. A cottage is a feeling of peace. This becomes a beautiful place to be, especially when you don’t want to be anywhere else.

Cottage-law stands for:

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When looking at your family cottage, look who it goes to, the various family members and places you visit.

If a child is given love, he becomes loving . . . If he is helped when he needs help, he becomes helpful. And if he has been truly valued at home . . . he grows up secure enough to look beyond himself to the welfare of others.
Dr. Joyce Brothers
1974

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To watch a Labrador Retriever swim in the lake is like watching a sea otter. Their heads are above water and they meander with such ease in the water. Our chocolate labs have grown up swimming at our family cottage in Suttons Bay, Michigan. This year, a family friend took them for a weekend vacation to their lakeside family cottage near Elkhart, Indiana. Now if you have never owned a lab, they love the water. These beautiful creatures believe this is paradise at its best. Labs have webbed feet. If you spread their paws, there is a built-in paddle – each webbed paw is in the in-between parts like a duck. They can spend more time swimming after a stick or a ball, until you have to declare the game is over.

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace.
– Milan Kundera

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The Cottage-Law Dogs of Summer!

Our beautiful chocolate Labradors summer with us at the family cottage. Each year, they become dogs at the beach. They love the water and would jump off the docks in Suttons Bay, Michigan to swim. It’s usually Ginger first, and then Jake.

This year, a family friend offered to give our labs a vacation at a farm in Elhart, Indiana. I hope you enjoy the photos and their adventures on the farm. Ginger is the princess and very mild mannered and then there is Jake – the lab who does everything with robust and character. My husband and I should have known why he was the last puppy left in the litter.

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