Mom passed in 2010. She had an updated Fla will and all her assets were in trusts. Brother & I inherited TV house, jointly. I was 54 at the time, Brother was in his 40's. Because her "affairs" were in order, all the assets flowed as she wanted. Easy, except Brother did have to do all that executor stuff. We decided to keep the house - it was a valuable asset to us both. Over the years, I was the one who maintained the property, he and I split the maintenance expenses including taxes. Yes, we lost homestead. We rented to Snowbirds during the high season to recoup some of the expenses. Eventually, Brother asked me to buy him out, which I gladly did. My husband and I have continued to maintain the house, make improvements. We love coming to TV. But we're never here long and every time I "vacation" here, I feel like a newcomer! Even after all these years! LOL!! Now, we're planning to retire in a couple of years and we'll search for a bigger place.
Moral of the story: leave the house to the kids. If they're smart, they'll hold on to it as an investment - as long as they can afford the upkeep, etc. If not, you've left your children a valuable asset to sell!
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