Protect Your Summer Sanctuary: Put That Beach House in a Trust

Summer is in full swing – the beach towels are out, the sunscreen is packed, and your family is headed to your beloved vacation home for another season of treasured memories. Maybe it’s the Cape Cod beach house, a lakeside cabin in New Hampshire, or that cozy coastal cottage in Maine that’s been in your family for decades. It’s the place where your kids learned to swim, where you host lobster boils, and where you slow down enough to hear the waves and feel the breeze. It’s more than just a house – it’s a backdrop for some of your family’s happiest moments.

And because your vacation home holds so many cherished memories, it deserves just as much care and planning as your primary residence – maybe even more.

Here’s where many people get tripped up. Lots of homeowners are diligent about putting their primary home into a trust. They know it helps their family avoid the hassle and expense of probate when they pass away. But too often, they forget to include their second home. And this oversight can cause real headaches down the line. 

When you pass away, any real estate you own in your individual name has to go through probate. If you pass away and your vacation home isn’t in trust, it will go through probate. That means your vacation home becomes part of the public probate process, subjecting your family to delay, expense and aggravation just to transfer ownership of a place that should simply stay in the family. That’s extra paperwork, extra time, extra costs, and extra headaches for your loved ones at a time when they least want to deal with any of that.  Probate eats up time and money, often taking months or even years to finalize. And during that time, the house may sit in limbo — maintenance, taxes, and utilities still need to be paid, but your family can’t easily sell it, rent it, or even make certain repairs without the court’s permission. 

And here’s the kicker: if your vacation home is in another state – which is pretty common in New England – your heirs could be looking at two probates. For example, if you live in Massachusetts but own a cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, your family may have to file a probate in Massachusetts for your main estate and in New Hampshire for the cottage. This is called “ancillary probate.” Two sets of attorneys, two court processes, double the paperwork, double the fees – and double the stress for your loved ones at a time when they’d much rather be remembering you over a clam bake than sitting in a lawyer’s office.

Transferring your vacation home to trust will allow your to family avoid that hassle. With a properly funded trust, your property passes directly to your chosen beneficiaries without probate. No court dates, no drawn-out legal process, and no unnecessary expenses eating away at your estate. Instead, your family gets to focus on what matters most – keeping the traditions alive and the memories growing. A trust makes it clear who inherits the home, how it’s managed, and even how expenses like taxes and maintenance are handled. It also keeps the property out of the public eye – unlike probate.

Of course, every family and every vacation home is unique. Maybe yours is rented out during the off-season. Maybe it’s owned jointly with other relatives already. Maybe you’re thinking about passing it down to multiple kids who all live in different states. An experienced estate planning attorney will help you determine the best way to handle these details.

So while you’re enjoying long sunny days, sticky s’mores, and salty swims, take a moment to check your estate plan. Is that vacation home in a trust? If not, talk to an estate planning attorney. Updating your plan now means your family can keep the good times rolling – without any unexpected legal storms on the horizon.

Your summer sanctuary deserves protection – and your family deserves peace of mind. With a little planning today, you can make sure your beach house stays the joyful escape it’s meant to be – not a surprise headache for your heirs. Here’s to sunsets, sandcastles, and a future that’s just as relaxing as your favorite summer day.

Attorney Leah A. Kofos is an attorney with the Dedham firm of Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC, which focuses on advising its clients in the areas of trust and estate planning, estate settlement, and elder law matters. This article is not intended to provide legal advice or create or imply an attorney-client relationship. No information contained herein is a substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. For more information visit ssbllc.com or call 781-461-1020.

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