Over the years the family cottage is a place of happy family times and often parents want the cottage to stay in the family, however this may not be a simple task.
The first issue in keeping the family cottage is potential tax liabilities when the last parent dies and it is inherited by family members. There can be thousands of dollars to pay that can come as a surprise. This would require each of the inheritors to come up with the required amount themselves or the taxes would be paid from other assets of the estate.
A second issue is conflicting preferences to keep the cottage in the family or sell it. This can force one sibling to buy out another’s interest in the property or the property to be sold even though some members would prefer to keep the property.
There is no simple solution so if you own such a property it is important to speak with your children as part of your estate plan to determine in advance what will happen to the property.