Many Utah families have fond memories of spending time together at a "fa
mily cabin." Whether it's up at Sundance, Bear Lake, Heber, Park City, or any other number of beautiful locations throughout the country, a family cabin often is a repository for a wealth of happy memories. Because of these frequently strong sentimental attachments to vacation homes, those who own them often want to ensure that the cabin stays within the family and will continue to be used over generations to keep family members close to one another. However, harmonious use of such properties can often go quickly awry without proper "cottage planning."
What is "cottage planning?" First and foremost, it is recognizing that a family cabin is a much different asset than a typical asset passed on through a traditional trust-based estate plan. Once you recognize that, then cottage planning can focus on designing and implementing a plan for the successful transition of a cherished family vacation property to future generations. If done properly, you can greatly increase the chances that the family cabin will stay within the family and be used for its intended purpose - to maintain and strengthen family relationships.
Unfortunately, many family cabin owners never think about the numerous pitfalls that lurk in the shadows when it comes to passing on the family cabin.
Reports. So, what happens to the property of all those people who die without a will? Well, Utah (and most every state) has “intestate” laws that say who gets a person’s property if the person died without a will. What if you don’t agree with what the law says? Too bad. What if you have no idea what the law says? Doesn’t matter. Think it’ll be okay if you just tell people what you want done with your property? Sorry, the laws—and not your unwritten wishes—control, even if everyone knew what your wishes were.
This is by far the most frequently asked question we get, and I cringe every time I hear it (or variations of it) because I know the answer will be unsatisfactory to the person who has just asked the question and to me as well.
I was recently asked the following question by an individual who was looking for some guidance on wrapping up his father’s affairs after he had passed away:
Many of my clients have heard me quip about how Bill Gates and Warren Buffett should be worried beginning New Year’s Day, 2010 because of the large target that Congress has placed squarely upon their backs. Now, to be honest, there is most likely no actual, physical threat to their lives because they have probably done appropriate estate planning. But this quip helps me to illustrate a point about Estate Taxes. On New Year’s Day 2010 – unless something happens within the next few weeks over in Washington D.C. – the Estate Tax or “Death Tax” will go away in a puff of smoke. In other words, as the laws currently stand, any one individual who dies in 2010 owning over $3.5 million worth of property will not have to pay Uncle Sam 1 red cent in estate taxes. 
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