We all love to take a break occasionally from our busy lives and enjoy a vacation that will help us decompress. Many of us own a vacation home that is the source of our retreat.  Whether we are escaping to our condos on Florida’s South Beach or to a cabin on New York’s Lake George, we rarely stop to consider one thing. Vacation homes are a valuable asset that should be protected by South Florida estate planning.  The most common method of asset protection is through the formation of business entities or trusts that will hold title to the property.

A popular type of entity organization is the Limited Liability Company (LLC). This is a family/business operation that is treated like a corporation but is taxed as a partnership.  This provides liability protection for family members from claims of those injured on the property and reduces the risk of creditors staking a claim on your asset. A family Limited Partnership can be created, which is similar to an LLC but has more restrictions on transferability of ownership.  There is also the option of establishing a Family Trust or Irrevocable Trust. A trust is a separate legal entity, which becomes the legal owner of the real estate.   An attorney can help you structure a trust to protect your house from creditors, allow for management by the parents during their lifetime, and protect the house in the event a child becomes divorced. The advantage of a trust is that it offers the most control over your asset and is typically used to keep a house in the family for generations.

To help preserve those valuable memories from past family vacations and to build many more, sit down with a qualified estate-planning attorney to map out the future of your home.  Learn how to protect your property from creditors and potential family disputes regarding its use, management, and future expense sharing.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate, please contact the South Florida law firm of  Wild Felice & Pardo, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?