# How best to will my timeshares



## icydog (Jan 17, 2007)

I have several timeshares. I want to will them to my kids in a way that will not incur probate and high penalities for them. Some are RTU like my Disney timeshares and some are deeded like my Marriotts. How best to word my will so the costs of transferring these units will not be prohibitive to my heirs. Should I put their name on the contracts? Would that be the best way? There are five kids, three are my husbands and two are mine. Mine are 29 and 31, Bob's are 40,42 and 45 years old.


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## johnmfaeth (Jan 17, 2007)

Hi Marylyn,

Finally got the spelling of your name right, sorry. 

The best way is to redeed the properties, with the "heirs" listed with you, as "Tenant in common". You all own it 100%.

Some here may tell you to do it as Joint Tenants. Such a deed would be invalid as Joint Tenants must all acquire their ownership at the same time and you and hubbie's ownership would predate that of your heirs in this situation.

Theoretically, you could fall victim of a lien if one of the heirs gets into financial trouble. In practical terms, that just doesn't happen, especially if the timeshare property is in another state or country. The bill collectors typically don't check for them.

After the new deeds are created, they are recorded in the county where the resort is located, and then copies sent to the resort for records updating.

You should be able to get name change paperwork for the non-deeded units directly from the resort management company. The additional owners typically just need to sign the form with you.

John

PS. If you just leave them in your will, after being probated in NJ, your will would hav eto also be probated in each state or country where you own a unit. That costs thousands to do.


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## AwayWeGo (Jan 17, 2007)

*Titled Ours With The Kids, JTWROS.*

For serious real estate (e.g., houses, acreage, condos, etc.) I don't know what we'd do -- talk to our lawyer about a living trust, I suppose, or get a solid will drafted, or some such.  For our modest timeshare holdings, attorney fees involved in doing that would pretty much exceed the combined value of all 4 timeshares.  So to save our son & daughter-in-law from having to mess with probate in far-off places after we assume room temperature, we just had both their names written on the timeshare deeds alongside ours as Joint Tenants With Right Of Survivorship.  So it goes. 
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## JLB (Jan 17, 2007)

In those states allowing it, I would suggest beneficiary deeds.

http://www.nonprobate.com/


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## somerville (Jan 17, 2007)

johnmfaeth said:


> The best way is to redeed the properties, with the "heirs" listed with you, as "Tenant in common". You all own it 100%.
> 
> Some here may tell you to do it as Joint Tenants. Such a deed would be invalid as Joint Tenants must all acquire their ownership at the same time and you and hubbie's ownership would predate that of your heirs in this situation.


Many, if not most, states have gotten rid of the archaic unity of title requirement for joint tenancy.

A tenancy in common would not avoid probate.  While all the deed holders would own 100% of the interest, each tenant would be presumed to separately own a proportionate share, unless different shares are stated, and a deceased tenant's interest would not pass by operation of law to the surviving tenants.  It would be subject to probate.

As each state has real property laws that contain some peculiarities, I suggest you contact an attorney who is familiar with the real property laws of the state(s) where your timeshare(s) is/are located.  Another possibility is a trust.


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## johnmfaeth (Jan 17, 2007)

Hi Somerville,

You may want to research that one a little more. By definition, tenants in common includes rights of survivorship. You may be thinking joint tenancy which is indeed a state by state cloudy picture. 

No offense meant...

John


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## SBK (Jan 18, 2007)

icydog said:


> I have several timeshares. I want to will them to my kids in a way that will not incur probate and high penalities for them. Some are RTU like my Disney timeshares and some are deeded like my Marriotts. How best to word my will so the costs of transferring these units will not be prohibitive to my heirs. Should I put their name on the contracts? Would that be the best way? There are five kids, three are my husbands and two are mine. Mine are 29 and 31, Bob's are 40,42 and 45 years old.



As much as you might not want to think about it, with 5 kids, there is a chance that one or more might find themselves divorced -- and you might find your timeshare deeds caught up in a messy court fight.  You might want to look into a revokable living trust as a way to avoid probate.


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## icydog (Jan 18, 2007)

SBK said:


> As much as you might not want to think about it, with 5 kids, there is a chance that one or more might find themselves divorced -- and you might find your timeshare deeds caught up in a messy court fight. You might want to look into a revokable living trust as a way to avoid probate.


We already have a trust set up for our children. First I inherit when/ if my husband dies first. Then all our assests get divided by 5. Should I just add all my timeshares to the revocable trust we already have set up?  We are not rich but we do believe in planning for the future and equal distributions of our assets upon our deaths.


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## defreeze (Jan 18, 2007)

Tenancies in common do not avoid probate.  

Let's say that two tenants in common own real estate on a 50/50basis.  Upon one tenant's death, his 50% share goes into his estate (and hence is probated) and the other (living) tenant continues to own his 50% interest.  

A Joint Tenancy with right of survivorship is the way to avoid probate.

For a quick and simple explanation of the terms, go to wikipedia.com and do a search.

That said, there may possibly be state-by-state variations on the law, so you should certainly contact an attorney.


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## SBK (Jan 18, 2007)

icydog said:


> We already have a trust set up for our children. First I inherit when/ if my husband dies first. Then all our assests get divided by 5. Should I just add all my timeshares to the revocable trust we already have set up?  We are not rich but we do believe in planning for the future and equal distributions of our assets upon our deaths.



I am NOT an attorney.  

As I understand a revokable living trust (which it sounds like you already have), you deed your real property to the trust.  This in no way affects your rights or what you can do with the property.  After both spouses are gone, the property is passed on without probate, in accordance with the terms of the trust.   

If your trust is set up properly, you should have already deeded your home into it.  It would work the same way with the timeshares.


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## sfwilshire (Jan 19, 2007)

As far as putting my primary residence into a trust .... I had planned that, but now our state may soon be offering property tax relief (freeze) for seniors up to a certain income. I'm not there yet age-wise, but I will be in the not too distant future. I assume that putting the property in trust would prevent us from taking advantage of this tax benefit.

Sheila


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## Steamboat Bill (Jan 19, 2007)

This idea....for all yoru good intentions...will probably end up a disaster.

I am not a pessimist, I just have seen these kinda things work out for the worst more than the best.

Unless you have 5 equal timeshares and will them to all kids equally, someone will feel cheated. Inaddition, a timeshare is not a real "assett" as you have to pay MF and the liquidation is not easy.

Have you thought about what would happen if one kid really wanted the DVC or Marriott and did not get it?

Thus, I would not will them at all to your kids. I would donate them to charity or simply have your estate sell them and split the cash 1/5 to each kid.

My better suggestion: buy a $500k or $1m life insurance plan that would provide each kid 100k-200k and let them buy whatever timeshare they want.


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## icydog (Jan 19, 2007)

Steamboat Bill said:


> This idea....for all yoru good intentions...will probably end up a disaster.
> 
> I am not a pessimist, I just have seen these kinda things work out for the worst more than the best.
> 
> ...


 

Interesting viewpoint Steamboat Bill. I wonder how easy it will be to sell any of my timeshares much less pay for someone to do it. My DVC interests will expire in 30+ years, Marriott is deeded of course, RHCs will expire in 10-20 years, Embassy is deeded, Bluegreen ?, Port of Call is deeded but by the time I die the propert will be very old, I hope I live another 20 years but I don't count on anything. 

I think your charity idea makes the most sense, unless someone expresses interest in owning one of my timeshares. So far none of the kids has shown one iota of interest in owning any of the ts we own.


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## Steamboat Bill (Jan 19, 2007)

icydog said:


> Interesting viewpoint Steamboat Bill. I wonder how easy it will be to sell any of my timeshares much less pay for someone to do it. My DVC interests will expire in 30+ years, Marriott is deeded of course, RHCs will expire in 10-20 years, Embassy is deeded, Bluegreen ?, Port of Call is deeded but by the time I die the propert will be very old, I hope I live another 20 years but I don't count on anything.
> 
> I think your charity idea makes the most sense, unless someone expresses interest in owning one of my timeshares. So far none of the kids has shown one iota of interest in owning any of the ts we own.



Perhaps someone should start a Viatical Timeshare company....just kidding.

In reality, you hot the nail on the head.....when you state none of your kids are inteested....thus, they sorta solved the problem for you.

I have seen a few family fights after a death and they all get ugly. If you have a crystal clear will and make things 100% equal or should I say 20% equal x 5 kids, then everyone should be satisified.

Remember timeshares are for our personal enjoyment. I constantly read about willing DVC to kids...and I even bought two equal contracts originally with the same thought. But I have since changed my mind.

If you want to be remembered fondly:

1. Use your timeshares now to take the relatives on free family vacations. If you make an offer and they don't bite....don't be offended. I would be surprised if your family can't find something in your "outstanding TS collection"

2. Buy a term life insurance plan and divide it up equally among the kids. Nothing causes more fights than if someone thinks they got more or less than someone else. Cash is king!!!!

3. Have a current will that is very detailed.

4. Discuss your plan with the kids, but don't rub it in or use it like a carrot on a stick to make them do something.

5. Consider leaving something to your favorite charity.

6. Consider leaving something for your close firends.

7. Don't dwell on death, but don't be surprised if it comes too soon. Enjoy every day as if it is the last.

One of the saddest cases involves a good friend of mine. He and his brother were left with some money, assests, and stuff when their monther passed away. The total amount was less than $100k. They even bought two matching timeshares in St Thomas to vacation together.

Well, the problem occured when one brother (my friend) cleaned up the china (that the other brother did not want) and lsited it for sale on eBay about a year after their mother died. Surprisingly, the China sold for about $1000 and my friend was happy. When his brother found out, he wanted $500, but my friend refused as they already divided the assets. Thus, that was the fall-out. They no longer speak, no longer take vacation together...all over some stupid china....sad.


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## icydog (Jan 19, 2007)

Thanks again Steamboat Bill.
You are so right about the kids not wanting to vacation with us or to take vacations by themselves!! It seems the only way my stepsons will vacation with us is if we pick up the tabs for their whole families. My two kids just won't go anywhere with us. My sister comes sometimes and she chips in for 1/3 of the costs of the vacation, but other than that, if we want a relative to come with us we wind up paying. Friends also love our freebies, but since I like to have company when we travel, that's fine. I don't have to pay for their expenses thank God. 
Even when the passes were included with our membership we couldn't get anyone to vacation with us without paying for it. I mean my stepkids since my kids were too young to work. I once posted on the disboards that my kids were not interested in my DVC points and I really had nobody to leave them to, and I got a load of people wishing me to adopt them, lol.


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## Steamboat Bill (Jan 19, 2007)

icydog said:


> It seems the only way my stepsons will vacation with us is if we pick up the tabs for their whole families.
> 
> Even when the passes were included with our membership we couldn't get anyone to vacation with us without paying for it. lol.



Well...if you are fortunate to have attained a certain financial level in life or a level significantly above your kids, I don't see a problem picking up the tab for accomidations.

Remember....you can't take it with you and vacations are a wonderful family bonding experience. That in my book is the most improtant thing.

I took a summer crusie on the Freedom of the Seas and invited my mother and sister with my family. I booked a $3500 room for them and paid all expenses except drinks and souvineers. We all had an incredible time. It was the best $3500 I have ever spent.


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## somerville (Jan 19, 2007)

johnmfaeth said:


> You may want to research that one a little more. By definition, tenants in common includes rights of survivorship. You may be thinking joint tenancy which is indeed a state by state cloudy picture.
> 
> No offense meant...


John, No offense taken, and none intended here, but I do not need to do any further research.  I studied the subject in school, and I applied it in my profession.  I do not profess to know the laws of every state, but I can tell you at common law a tenancy in common did not provide any right of survivorship.  At common law a tenancy in common was favored or tenancies with survivorship, as the right to pass property by will or to your heirs was favored over cotenant survivorship.  This is why you will often see the added statement "and not as tenants in common" in a grant to joint tenants.

Forums such as TUG are poor places to obtain legal advice, and I try to avoid providing legal advice on such forums because the law varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  However, when I see advice that I believe is incorrect, I will encourage people to seek competent legal counsel.

The consequences of following incorrect legal advice may not be known until it is too late to take corrective action.  For example, if the advice regarding survivorship rights on a tenancy in common is incorrect, it will usually be identified after one or more of the tenants is deceased, and the only remedy may be a costly probate proceeding.

While there are laymen who have enough knowledge of the law that they can conduct many of their own legal transactions, for the vast majority of people questions regarding the legal aspects of property ownership should be addressed to competent professionals.


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