FOCA and estate lawyer Peter Lillico have been teaching families about cottage succession planning for the past decade! Our traditional in-person events have shifted to digital for 2020 & 2021. Thank you to our member associations who are the local hosts.
These events are free to FOCA members, and the slides are shared with registrants after the events (but not the recording).
2022 Seminar Season – planning is underway!
- if your FOCA Member Association is interested in hosting an event in 2022, please email the office for an information sheet.
Sessions held in 2021:
- June 15, 2021 @ 7-8:30pm webinar: “Targeting Tax” for members of the Kennisis Lake Cottage Owners Association
- June 23, 2021 @ 7-8:30pm webinar: “Cottage Succession A to Z” for members of the Mazinaw Property Owners Association
- August 14, 2021 10:30-12:00am webinar: “Cottage Succession A to Z” for members of the Chaffey‘s Area Lakes Association & the Buck Lake Association
- September 14, 2021 @ 7-8:30pm webinar: “Camp Succession A to Z” for our Thunder Bay area Associations, hosted by the West Loon Lake Campers’ Association.
- September 21, 2021 @ 7-8:30pm webinar: “Cottage Succession A to Z” for members of the Chandos Lake Property Owners Association.
- October 13, 2021 @ 7-8:30pm webinar: “Trusting the Cottage” for all FOCA members.
Recordings of some of Peter’s past talks are available to purchase:
Talk #1 – Cottage Succession Planning “A” to “Z” – this is the recommended introductory session that provides an overview of considerations for starting your cottage succession plan (recorded 2021)
Talk #2 – Cottage Sharing Agreements – an in-depth look at considerations for creating the Cottage Sharing Agreement, one important step in your cottage succession process (recorded 2016)
Talk #3 – Targeting Tax – an in-depth session explaining capital gains tax, and tips to reduce or defer it (recorded 2020)
Talk #4 – Trusting the Cottage – an in-depth look at trust techniques (recorded in 2021)
Purchase digital access to each 90 minute recording
About the FOCA Cottage Succession Seminar Series
How will your family manage the generational transfer of the cottage ownership? Learn what you need to do NOW, to protect the family cottage for the future. Each session includes valuable information about parts of the process:
- COTTAGE SUCCESSION A to Z (recommended introductory/overview session– previously called Keeping the ‘Family’ in the Family Cottage) – Cottage succession planning intro, with an overview of the legal, tax and family issues that need to be addressed.
- AGREEMENTS AVOID ADVERSITY – Why a Cottage Sharing Agreement is the crucial first foundation for shared future family cottage ownership; what protections and provisions they must include; and how best to develop one for your family.
- TARGETING TAX – How capital gains tax works; how to avoid it; techniques to reduce or defer it; planning approaches to fund it.
- TRUSTING THE COTTAGE – How a combination of trust techniques can combine to: retain control of the cottage by the parents for their lifetimes; ensure that the cottage passes to their children after their death without probate tax; provide protections for the cottage against children’s creditors or divorcing spouses. Peter’s advice on trusts was referred to by Penny Caldwell in the early summer 2018 Cottage Life Magazine as “sweet and innovative.”
- COTTAGES AT THE CROSSROADS: Choosing the Path – This session assumes the cottagers want to keep the cottage in the family and explains the pros and cons of different succession vehicles: Direct personal ownership by children; corporate ownership; or trust ownership.
- SEIZE THE DAY OR BIDE YOUR TIME? Should the changeover be sooner (during the parents’ lifetime, while they are able to be involved in the transition) or later (on death, through their Wills)? Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each.
- CHOOSING CHILDREN CHALLENGES – How parents can ensure ownership lands in the right hands, considering different expectations for usage, finances, geographic proximity, and more.
Please contact the FOCA office if you are interested in holding a Cottage Succession event in your area in the future.
Get additional notes from estate lawyer Peter Lillico about leaving the cottage to the kids, online here: http://www.lbghlaw.com/cottages.php
To contact Peter at his Peterborough office (remember to tell him FOCA sent you!):
plillico@lbghlaw.com 705-743-3577
Related News:
- June 3, 2021 – Peter Lillico quoted in: The perils of passing down the family cottage (Globe & Mail)
- August 22, 2020 –Navigating the often rough waters of cottage ownership (Peterborough This Week)
- Peter Lillico is quoted in this article about “What happens to our joint-owned cottage after we pass?” from Cottage Life.
- June 2018 – Peter Lillico is quoted in this article: “What to know about owning a cottage with friends or family,” Times Colonist.
- Peter is also the backbone of this article: “How to hand down your cottage while keeping the peace and saving money,” Cottage Life, by Penny Caldwell.
- “4 different ways families approached cottage succession,” Cottage Life, by Penny Caldwell.
- Sept.2015 – Read this article about FOCA’s Cottage Succession Seminar series with estate lawyer Peter Lillico (source: My Kawartha)
Additional info for our American friends with cottages in Ontario:
In early June 2016, FOCA met up with the American Friends of Canadian Land Trusts (AF) to discuss the connection between conservation and cottage succession planning for American owners of property in Ontario’s cottage country. AF helps U.S. taxpayers learn about and address the challenges of Canadian capital gains, and explore how they can create a conservation strategy for their lands that will meet their financial goals.