Draft Letter to Siblings re Joint Property

See my prior entry for background on this.

The subject of the Fairfax property came up when Diane and I recently met with an attorney about revising our will.  We had a short discussion on the subject but there was no need to include anything since the property is jointly owned by all the siblings with the right of survivorship. 

When any one of us passes away the property simply has one less owner. Eventually, this arrangement will result in fewer and fewer owners.  If no decisions are ever made then the property will become part of the estate of the last living brother (or sister).

There is also the potential that as the number of owners decreases the tax burden could become too great. Someone may not be able to pay and risk tax default or others may feel obligated to pay for them and resent it. The land ceases to become a source that unites us and potentially becomes a source of conflict; if not for us siblings, then possibly for spouses’ children or grandchildren.

It seems desirable to me that we attempt to avoid this situation if possible. The difficulty in this is that everyone must agree in order for any decision to be made.

I have had discussions with most of you over the years and the consensus seems to be that the majority of the land be maintained in a natural state as much as possible and be available for all to use as a place to enjoy nature and get away.  As long as most of us siblings are around then I have little doubt that this will be sustainable.  Things could get dicey in later years. Personally, I would like to think that we could find a way for this arrangement to be maintained for at least the next generation and hopefully longer.

There are different structures that are available such as a trust or an LLC. There are even hybrid types that might offer some advantages for us.  Would everyone be willing to participate in a conference call with an attorney who could present possible options as a first step?

I’m open to suggestions. Keep in mind that this is going to 8 different siblings ranging in age from 50 – 65.

Namaste