Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Hampshire

A Trust is a great tool to manage real estate between nieces and nephews, or any family members for that matter. What type of Trust is really something that should be discussed with an attorney after all of your goals and intentions have been discussed. However, when dealing with vacation property it is extremely crucial to set up rules and expectations that everyone can agree with regardless of whether you use a trust to do it.

You should not ignore or attempt to force nieces and nephews, who do not want to continue to be owners, to accept your (the cousins who wish to keep the property) decisions. Instead, the cousins who wish to keep the property should discuss methods to purchase the shares of the cousins who do not want to own the property or �buy them out�. This will give the cousins who would like to keep the property sole decision-making and prevent harsh feelings or court actions. In the event that you and your cousins do not have the cash upfront to purchase these shares, you should enter into a meaningful dialogue, with the cousins who wish to sell, in the efforts to come to an agreement. If the relationship has already deteriorated, you may want to work with a Mediator to help all parties come to an agreement.

A Trust can then be established to the benefit of you and your cousins who wish to continue to own the property and language can be included to protect you, your families, and the property in the future. You also can include language that would allow people to opt-out, and what the terms of that would be. A Trust is a powerful tool that can assist you in this case; you should speak with a qualified attorney in your area.