On 15 Aug 2006 09:48:15 -0700, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:


JohnH wrote:
I will soon be moving my boat down to the Rappahannock River to make it
available to my kids for their use. Right now the drive for them is much
too long. As part of the deal, we three families will share expenses for
storage, maintenance, and insurance. I will retain title to the boat.

I'd like to draw up an agreement of some sort for such a use of the boat.
Any ideas on what considerations I should include therein?
--
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***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
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John


Can the kids afford to keep up the boat without your one-third
interest?

If so, just give them the boat as well as 100% of all the expenses.
Sell it for $1. You arrive at an understanding that dear old Dad will
be allowed to use the boat X days per week, month, quarter, or whatnot
on a prescheduled basis- and you can still go fishing while presenting
your kids with the gift of a boat. You also want the first right of
refusal to buy the boat back (for the same $1) if the kids decide to
sell it. That would be my approach, but I agree with others that it can
be risky sharing a boat with family members. You'd be better off having
a sharing agreement with strangers, administered by a neutral third
party, than getting into family wrangles about just who ran over a rock
and bent the prop or left the boat a total mess last week, etc.

That may be an idea. I'd thought of keeping title just to forestall any
serious issues. I could always just sell the damn boat and refund any money
they'd paid toward expenses. On the other hand, selling them the boat for a
buck may provide what I'm looking for without having to be in the middle.
It's a hard decision. That's why I asked for ideas. I appreciate them all.
--
******************************************
***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
******************************************

John