Richard and Marion have a beautiful house in France, which they have converted with blood, sweat and tears over the years into a lovely little palace.
Complete with a studio where they both pursue their hobbies (Richard does sculpting and Marion paints) with passion. They also have a considerable art collection that is displayed with great care throughout their home.
Their ultimate dream is that after their death, their palace will be preserved and remain in the family's possession and that their children, and later their grandchildren, can continue to enjoy it - just like them. They therefore want this to be recorded in their wills.
With great regularity, clients express the wish for their house in France to be preserved for the family. The house that has been in the family for generations or the refurbishment house they have worked on for years to get exactly as they dreamed, the house where emotions and joys and sorrows have been shared.
They are often convinced that after they die, their children and grandchildren will feel the same way and will return with great regularity to the house where their ancestors and father and mother experienced so many happy years.
Because I also very often deal with the other side (children who have inherited their parents' house in France), I know that emotions, wishes and reality are often vastly different.
Children who live in the Netherlands and have children of their own often do not like the idea of going to the same place every holiday. Emigrating has been a dream of their parents and certainly not theirs. A generational home entails costs to maintain it. Moreover, air travel with growing children is becoming increasingly expensive, so often a destination other than the house in France is chosen for the holidays.
This often makes me hear that the house in France will in all likelihood be sold as soon as possible, regardless of their (for) parents' dream.
On the one hand, I understand the parents' emotion, but on the other, I see the reality, and that is that children and grandchildren are often not waiting for a house abroad.
Is it realistic to impose a burden on the children in your will, or are you saddling them with a moral dilemma because reality differs from emotion?
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