Welcome
The focus of the practice is cottage succession planning. We also have significant experience in estate planning, probate, real property, and business law.
"Cottage law" refers to the legal tools we employ in cottage succession planning. The goal of cottage succession planning is to establish a legal arrangement that keeps a cottage in the family over multiple generations. The arrangement is a success only if it is perceived to be fair by each successive generation of owners.
David S. Fry, Esq. acquires the Cottage Law practice
Stuart J. Hollander, who developed the "cottage law" and authored the bestselling book, Saving the Family Cottage, passed away suddenly in August 2007. The Law Offices of Stuart J. Hollander is pleased to announce that David S. Fry, of Blakeslee, Fry & Scales, PLC, in Rockford, Michigan, is the successor to Stuart’s cottage law practice. A fourth generation cottage owner, David is well versed on the issues of cottage succession planning and has acquired Stuart’s cottage law research, documents, and background information. David has considerable experience in the field of cottage law, having worked for a number of years with individuals and families to develop plans that meet their needs. He is ready to assist you with your cottage succession plan.
Crafting a Cottage Plan
A cottage plan usually addresses these concerns through the creative use of a limited liability company (LLC), often paired with an endowment established by the founders. The endowment may be funded during the founder's lifetime through a gift to the LLC, or with cash proceeds from one or more policies insuring the life of the founder. If there is more than one founder, a second-to-die policy held by an irrevocable life insurance trust is an ideal tool for creating the cottage endowment.
The cottage plan must take into account common law rights of owners of real property. For example, it is typical for parents to leave a cottage equally to their children. The legal consequence is a "tenancy in common" among the children. These parents rarely realize that any of the children now can force the sale of the cottage through a court proceeding known as "partition."
Parents often do not consider the consequence of a child's leaving his share of the cottage to a spouse, the hardship imposed on a child who can't afford to maintain his share of the cottage, or the hard feelings among their children that result from a forced sale of an interest in the cottage.
Cottage planning is important if a family wishes to keep its cottage for several generations. It is a specialized field. We look forward to assisting your family with preserving its most important asset. |
|
Cottage Succession Planning seminars
Attorney David S. Fry is available to speak to your group on the subject of sharing and passing on the family cottage to future generations. Contact David at 616.866.9593. |
|
 |
  |
How to order the book
To order your copy of Saving the Family Cottage, click on the "Add to cart" button or call 231.271.5609 for Rose Hollander. Free shipping and handling. The book is also available at your local bookstore, and on the Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Amazon websites. |
|
|
|
|
