Daniel and Susan had owned their house on Cape Cod for nearly 30 years. They bought it when their children, Emma and Jack, were young. Summers there were filled with lobster dinners, beach days, birthday parties and enough family photographs to fill several albums.
Now Daniel and Susan are in their late seventies. The house is worth about $2.5 million, with no mortgage.
They have one goal: keep the house in the family.
Their children have a different goal: not to own the house.
Emma lives in South Carolina. Jack lives in Denver. They chose different paths from their parents. Neither particularly wants a second home. More importantly, neither wants the taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs and logistical headaches that come with one.
But neither child wants to tell their parents.