Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

To use a will or create a trust

My Brother-in-law and I jointly own a beach house in NJ along with investments and a bank account used to fund the upkeep and other associated costs. It is not the primary residence of either of us.

Our mutual goal is to keep it as a ''family home'' for use and joint/equal ownership of our respective children upon our demise.

Would creation of a trust be in our (their) best intersect?


Asked on 2/05/06, 4:41 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Jonathan Chester The Law Office of Jonathan S. Chester, Esq., LLC

Re: To use a will or create a trust

Creating a trust to own the real estate is one option. Another option would be to create an LLC and have the LLC own the house.

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Answered on 2/06/06, 11:17 am
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: To use a will or create a trust

I agree with Jon on the alternatives. I prefer a trust over the LLC, because of annual maintenance costs of the entity; particulalrly since the annual costs of an LLC are based upon the number of members. In either event, full details of what is intended and how operatings costs are to be handled should be in the entity documents. You should also provide how an interest can be liquidated in the event one or more eventual holders does not want to remain an owner. If you need help preparing the document, contact me directly.

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Answered on 2/06/06, 11:22 am


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