Tracy Craig, Chair of the firm’s Trusts and Estates Practice Group, recently published an article featured in Kiplinger, “How to Handle Estate Planning for Multigenerational Living Arrangements“.
In this notable article, Tracy delves into the complexities that arise when multiple generations cohabitate on a shared property. She adeptly addresses crucial matters such as ownership concerns, inheritance distribution, and the intricate dynamics of shared responsibilities within such arrangements.
Excerpt:
Many people today live in multigenerational homes, where children, parents and sometimes grandparents cohabitate. With multiple generations in the same home, complicated issues can arise. Increased real estate costs, increased childcare costs, increased nursing home costs, increased remote work opportunities and COVID changing the work and schooling landscape have all resulted in more multigenerational households.
These living situations can create questions, such as if a grandparent pays for an in-law apartment on their child’s property, who owns the property; or, if an adult child living with elderly parents contributes to updates on the property, toward maintenance or provides caregiving services to the elderly parents, should this result in an unequal inheritance? All of these questions can be addressed in estate planning documents to help with family harmony.