Mary P. O’Reilly, Co-Chair of Meltzer Lippe’s Trusts & Estates practice group was featured in Dan’s Papers in an article titled “Secrets to Estate Planning for Summer Houses.”
The East End has more than its share of summer houses, from mansions to smaller houses on the waterfront or away from the beach. They often become places where families gather through generations. Parents may own the summer house, but it is a building filled with memories and reunions that help reunite families who may live far apart. Even when parents pass away, the summer house can provide a place to continue to gather, holding the family together.
While stocks, bonds and primary residences go up for sale, how to handle a summer house from estate and income taxes and even whether to sell can be complex. That can turn a summer house into a kind of winter of discontent, or an asset that provides economic or emotional strength depending on how it’s handled. “It may have a long history of good memories and a multi-generational connection,” says Mary O’Reilly. “Given the prices of housing on the East End, it’s likely to be a very valuable asset in an estate. It’s important to plan for it.”
Read more: Dan’s Papers