# Inheriting a Marriott Timeshare - Problems in Transferring Destination Club Points



## jeff76543 (Mar 15, 2013)

I don't know how many of you have inherited a Marriott Timeshare.  The process is far from quick and simple.  In my case, from the time of my father's death until the actual transfer of the deed and registration by the Marriott Vacation Club it took over 3 years -- which, thankfully, came to a successful end this week.

This thread is not about the difficulty of the inheritence process -- perhaps I will address this subject in future in a separate thread -- but about the difficulty of using Destination Club points from the current year.  I would be happy to receive advice or hear of better solutions that were arranged with Marriott by other TUG members.

I originally enrolled the three weeks of my father's timeshare after his death (and before the price of enrollment increased) and have continued paying all the dues and maintenance fees since then while the uncontested inheritence went through probate court.  At the time of the enrollment of the weeks, I was assured, in writing, that the enrollment would remain after the transfer of the timeshare weeks to my name.  (In this regard, I am happy to say that Marriott did transfer the enrolled weeks to my name without any additional payment for maintaining their status as enrolled weeks.)  I was able to take advantage of the destination club points through my father's Marriott web account.  Last year, before the September 30 deadline, I converted the 2013 timeshare weeks into destination club points and was able to have access to them through the website for reservations this year.

Before I submitted the transfer of ownership forms to Marriott, I consulted with Marriott's Owner Modifications Department and, as a result of our conversation, I listed the first year of usage of the timeshare weeks under my ownership as 2013.  As mentioned above, the 2013 weeks had already been transferred to Destination Club points, but the 2013 Destination Club points had not yet been used.

When the registration of the transfer of ownership actually took place this week, Marriott refused to list the first year of ownership as 2013 and insisted, because the weeks had been converted to points, that the first year of usage should be listed as 2014.  I explained that my father had passed away 3 years ago and that I would need access to the 2013 destination club points and they said that I could use the points in "my father's account" by calling a Marriott representative, but that I would not be able to see the points, as they would be closing the internet account for my father.  It did not help that I explained that this made no sense and that they should either keep my father's account open so that I could continue to use it or that they should transfer the points to my new account so that I could see availability and use the points directly.  They said that they would only transfer the points to my account if the movement of the points was considered a transfer of the points, which would not leave the possibility of banking the points for next year or transfering them to someone else.

At this stage, I can only use the points by calling Marriott, having them check availability and then giving instruction to use the points -- obviously, not as my father, but as me [at least this is what they said has been added as a note to my father's accoount].

Two days ago I wrote to the Marriott Vacation Club with a formal request that this situation be resolved in a more sensible manner, but I have yet to hear from them.  If I hear from TUG members that they have been able to make a more logical arrangement with Marriott, this might help me to reach a better arrangement with MVC.  It may also be that someone who has not experienced this process, nevertheless would have good advice about possible ways to proceed. 

I would appreciate any personal experience or advice that anyone can offer.


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## larryallen (Mar 15, 2013)

I would think if the timeshares were in a trust it would have been much simpler after death.


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 15, 2013)

Jeff,
  Go to the top, please contact these two folks with your situation:

Keith.Kocarek@mvwc.com 
Vice President Customer Advocacy -Marriott Vacation Club.

and  

steven.weisz@vacationclub.com 
President of Marriott Vacation Club International.


  When I could not get those in modification to honor the MR points promised in the Marriott Custom House auction, I contacted them and things began to happen.

You write very well and by doing so, and laying it out chronologically, this will help them to understand.

Every time I called the modification dept., I was told that "John" was handling my case, but "John" does speak directly members, only to MVC agents. Round and round we'd go.

Go get 'em !


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## dioxide45 (Mar 15, 2013)

It appears from the OPs experience that they consider converting your week to DC points as use in the exact same way they consider depositing in to II as use of your week. It doesn't matter when you actually use that deposit. Remember that the points are just currency in the exchange company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MORI.

If you transfer ownership of a MVCI week, your II deposits don't transfer automatically with it. The same seems to be true with DC points. This is confusing to the customer as they think with everything in one place at MVCI, that it should be seamless. There is a lot of legalese behind the scenes that doesn't make it quite so easy.


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## jeff76543 (Mar 16, 2013)

Beaglemom3 said:


> Jeff,
> Go to the top, please contact these two folks with your situation:
> 
> Keith.Kocarek@mvwc.com
> ...



Thank you for the suggestion Beaglemom.

If I don't receive a response from MVCI that offers a reasonable solution within a few days, I will try "going to the top".

I will post the results of my interaction, as it may assist others who face a similar situation in the future.

I am still interested in hearing from anyone who has dealt with a similar problem after inheriting a Marriott timeshare.


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## pwrshift (Mar 16, 2013)

I own 6 weeks.  In an attempt to circumvent any inheritance problem i put one of my children's name with mine on each of 4 deeds so hopefully right of survivorship applies if i passed. Unfortunately, I did that just with my last 4 so the first 2 have only my name.  I assume for those 2, my heirs will have to decide whether to sell them or take them over...unless I sell them before then.  

When I joined the new vacation 'club' apparently that membership transfers as well for those 4.  Naturally I discussed what I was doing with the 4 deeds and they were each happy about their name on a deed as I wouldn't have done it if they felt they didn't want the headaches of TS ownership or the cost.

Brian


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## vacationhopeful (Mar 16, 2013)

pwrshift said:


> I own 6 weeks.  In an attempt to circumvent any inheritance problem i put one of my children's name with mine on each of 4 deeds so hopefully right of survivorship applies if i passed. Unfortunately, I did that just with my last 4 so the first 2 have only my name.  I assume for those 2, my heirs will have to decide whether to sell them or take them over...unless I sell them before then. Brian



Brian,
My favorite suggestion is to add on to the other 2 deeds the names of your least favorite persons. :ignore: They will remember your so very kind act for years after you are gone. Best if you have some prior relationship to them - like my brother's ex-wife who I so ADORED _(not)_ except she died 10 years ago.


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## larryallen (Mar 16, 2013)

pwrshift said:


> I own 6 weeks.  In an attempt to circumvent any inheritance problem i put one of my children's name with mine on each of 4 deeds so hopefully right of survivorship applies if i passed. Unfortunately, I did that just with my last 4 so the first 2 have only my name.  I assume for those 2, my heirs will have to decide whether to sell them or take them over...unless I sell them before then.
> 
> When I joined the new vacation 'club' apparently that membership transfers as well for those 4.  Naturally I discussed what I was doing with the 4 deeds and they were each happy about their name on a deed as I wouldn't have done it if they felt they didn't want the headaches of TS ownership or the cost.
> 
> Brian



Just make sure it says "as joint tenants" or "with right of survivorship" and you should be good. However, to be safe have it say "in joint tenancy with the right of survivorship."  Also, just do deeds for the other two to flip them into a JT.  Shouldn't cost much.


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## jeff76543 (Mar 26, 2013)

*Update*



Beaglemom3 said:


> Jeff,
> Go to the top, please contact these two folks with your situation:
> 
> Keith.Kocarek@mvwc.com
> ...




Dear Beaglemom,

I have taken your advice.  Thank you for the e-mail addresses.  You must have put in an effort to find these addresses, as I couldn't locate them anywhere on the Vacation Club web sites.


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## JudyS (Mar 26, 2013)

larryallen said:


> Just make sure it says "as joint tenants" or "with right of survivorship" and you should be good. However, to be safe have it say "in joint tenancy with the right of survivorship."  Also, just do deeds for the other two to flip them into a JT.  Shouldn't cost much.


Are there gift tax/inheritance tax issues with giving ownership of a valuable timeshare to a child? (I know you can add your spouse to the deed with no gift tax problems.)


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## Saintsfanfl (Mar 27, 2013)

JudyS said:


> Are there gift tax/inheritance tax issues with giving ownership of a valuable timeshare to a child? (I know you can add your spouse to the deed with no gift tax problems.)



Gift tax is often misunderstood and almost never an issue. Most people do not realize that there is a lifetime exclusion above the annual and individual exclusion and they mistakenly believe that tax is owed on amounts exceeding the annual exclusions. 

The fact is that no tax is owed until you give away more than $5,250,000 (above and beyond the annual and individual exclusions) during your lifetime. You still have to file a return if you exceed the annual amounts but no gift tax is owed.

Here are the exclusion amounts:

The annual exclusion for gifts is $11,000 (2004-2005), $12,000 (2006-2008), $13,000 ( 2009-2012) and *$14,000* (2013).
The applicable exclusion amount is increased to *$5,000,000* for estates of decedents dying on or after December 31, 2009.
The applicable exclusion amount for gifts is $1,000,000 (2010), $5,000,000 (2011), $5,120,000 (2012) and *$5,250,000* (2013).

You only start eating away at the applicable exclusion amount (lifetime) when you exceed the annual exclusion amount.


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## SMHarman (Mar 27, 2013)

JudyS said:


> Are there gift tax/inheritance tax issues with giving ownership of a valuable timeshare to a child? (I know you can add your spouse to the deed with no gift tax problems.)


In any case most TS gifts are below the annual gift limit and near 0 value.  As someone else pointed out you are gifting a liability disguised as an asset.


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## Saintsfanfl (Mar 27, 2013)

SMHarman said:


> In any case most TS gifts are below the annual gift limit and near 0 value.  As someone else pointed out you are gifting a liability disguised as an asset.



True, but if you are gifting actual DC points, then right now the value would likely be considered at or near Marriott's retail price. That said, even if you are gifting $1,000,000 worth of points, there is no gift tax owed since the exclusion is $5.25 million.


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 27, 2013)

jeff76543 said:


> Dear Beaglemom,
> 
> I have taken your advice.  Thank you for the e-mail addresses.  You must have put in an effort to find these addresses, as I couldn't locate them anywhere on the Vacation Club web sites.




  I have to thank Windje2000 for guiding me to this.

  Best,
  B


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## windje2000 (Mar 27, 2013)

Beaglemom3 said:


> I have to thank Windje2000 for guiding me to this.
> 
> Best,
> B



You are welcome.  

And BTW, I finally stayed at Custom House and it is an awesome timeshare.  Really glad you got your auction purchases squared away.


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## jeff76543 (Mar 29, 2013)

*Happy End*

I am very happy to report that the problems that I had were quickly resolved once I wrote to Keith Kocarek and Steven Weisz.

I was extremely impressed with the quality of the assistance that I received from a Senior Customer Service Manager in the Executive Offices.  I believe that it was Keith Kocarek who initiated the e-mail that I received from the Senior Customer Service Manager and she responded to the issues that I raised in a courteous, professional and efficient manner -- resolving the problems with creativity and showing real understanding that overcame technical difficulties.

Once again, thank you to Beaglemom -- and thanks for the first time to windje2000 -- for the recommendation to write to Keith Kocarek and Steven Weisz.


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 29, 2013)

Glad to hear it.


Unfortunately, this is a tack that some of us are forced to take after exhausting all remedies available. I hated to place this at their feet, but there was a limit to my patience and sense of fairness (or lack thereof).

Like you, I tried to resolve this through the usual and customary channels, but after spinning my wheels and getting nowhere fast, I felt forced to "go to the top" and have my case heard and understood. Did not find my situation being understood or heard at the lower levels. A real shame.

Let me know if you get to the Custom House. I'll treat to to a Lobstah roll or cuppa clam chowdah.

Welcome to TUG. I hope you'll stick around. This is _the_ most helpful site you'll find for timesharing information. Knowledge is power.

Oh, we're off to Paris (the Marriott Champs) in September.


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## jeff76543 (Mar 30, 2013)

Dear Beaglemom,

Enjoy your trip to Paris! I do get to Boston occasionally and had a wonderful 3-day stay at the Custom House last May with my grown daughter. When I come again, I'll let you know.

The one very positive thing that I learned from this experience with Marriott is that there is a excellent customer support system in the main office and if something goes wrong and you really have a good case, people at the top will listen.

It may be unfortunate that one has to go to the top, but in many companies there is no one at the top who wants to listen -- or even worse, the anti-client atmosphere starts at the top and the message filters down.  My experience in this case was the opposite and I found encouragement and a receptive ear at the top of the Marriott Vacation Club  as well as a willingness to correct matters that had been totally messed up by a customer service representative (some of which I didn't mention in this thread, but they were the result of the representative's very unprofessional actions that only resulted in further complication of my situation).


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 30, 2013)

jeff76543 said:


> Dear Beaglemom,
> 
> .  My experience in this case was the opposite and I found encouragement and a receptive ear at the top of the Marriott Vacation Club  as well as a willingness to correct matters that had been totally messed up by a customer service representative (some of which I didn't mention in this thread, but they were the result of the representative's very unprofessional actions that only resulted in further complication of my situation).





  Exactly my situation. I could not get the modification dept. to understand or even  believe me. Not a "warm fuzzy" here. Apparently, the one person, "John", who/whom the customer service reps were quoting as their source,  would only speak to the reps and not to lowly 'ol moi. This just compounded the problem even more.

 After posting my situation here on TUG, I got a nice PM from Windje2000 with one name and then I found the other one after an exhaustive search. I emailed them both and Keith Kocarek emailed me back after Mr. Weisz emailed him (I was copied on this email) and things began to resolve. After veryifying that the 2 CH platinums that I had purchased at Marriott's own in-house auction had, indeed,  been announced with MR points (the CH Mgr. backed me up on this - great guy !), all went very fast.

  I agree. The upper level was very receptive and "cut to the chase". Prest-o-change-o.


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## momof5boys (Mar 6, 2018)

jeff76543 said:


> I don't know how many of you have inherited a Marriott Timeshare.  The process is far from quick and simple.  In my case, from the time of my father's death until the actual transfer of the deed and registration by the Marriott Vacation Club it took over 3 years -- which, thankfully, came to a successful end this week.
> 
> This thread is not about the difficulty of the inheritence process -- perhaps I will address this subject in future in a separate thread -- but about the difficulty of using Destination Club points from the current year.  I would be happy to receive advice or hear of better solutions that were arranged with Marriott by other TUG members.


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## momof5boys (Mar 6, 2018)

Hi,
I am currently in a very similar situation to yours. My in laws passed away 2 years ago, leaving 3 weeks to my husband and his brother. We are finally almost finished with the probate process, and have begun the lengthy process of getting the titles changed into our names and then transferring the weeks into our names. In the meantime, we have access to their Marriott account online. Their weeks are from prior to June 2010 and have not yet been converted to the Destination Points program but are eligible to be. I emailed MVC to see if the weeks would remain enrolled once inherited and received a reply that weeks that are inherited from parent to child remain enrolled. I am wondering if I should go ahead and enroll the weeks while they are still in the name of my in laws? Is there anything that you would recommend doing differently than you did when you went through this? Thank you for any tips. They certainly don't make the process easy.


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## bogey21 (Mar 6, 2018)

You would no doubt lose some status, bebefits, etc. and it would cost money but there would be a lot less strain on everyone if the Beneficiaries would just disclaim the inheritance and buy the contracts they want in the resale market.  The lack of hassle would cost money but might be worth it.

George


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## JIMinNC (Mar 6, 2018)

bogey21 said:


> You would no doubt lose some status, bebefits, etc. and it would cost money but there would be a lot less strain on everyone if the Beneficiaries would just disclaim the inheritance and buy the contracts they want in the resale market.  The lack of hassle would cost money but might be worth it.
> 
> George



You could potentially lose *a lot* of benefits doing it that way and, depending on where the weeks are located, it could cost *a lot* of money to replace them.

First off, as momof5boys says, they would lose the ability to enroll the 3 weeks. That is the major benefit lost. Destination Points enrollment offers tremendous flexibility over and above the old weeks system, as well as a much better booking and reservation process. With three weeks, just saving the II fees can usually justify enrollment, even if you never opt to convert to points in any given year. They would also lose the ability to convert to Marriott rewards points, but that is admittedly, not a hugely valuable benefit. But if it comes free, even though it's generally not a good value, it does represent a way to get some value from a week in those (hopefully) rare situations where life gets in the way and converting to Rewards is the only way to avoid losing the week.

Disclaiming inheritance on three weeks and then replacing them could also cost quite a bit of money if the weeks were platinum 2BR units. It's not unusual for Platinum Marriott weeks to sell for $10,000 to $20,000+, even on the resale market. So, potentially saving $30,000 to $60,000, plus retaining the option to enroll would seem to be worth a certain amount of hassle. Obviously if all three weeks were off-season bronze, then maybe the replacement cost would be a lot less, but if even one were platinum in a place like Hawaii, Hilton Head, the Caribbean, or a ski week, then the cost to replace could be significant.


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## jeff76543 (Mar 7, 2018)

I agree with JIMinNC.

Regarding momof5boys' question, my suggestion to you would be to go ahead and enroll the weeks and to finish using the annual use year of points that you transferred into Destination Club points before making the final transfer of the account to your husband's (and his brother's) name with Marriott (regardless of the timing of the transfer of the title in probate court).

Timing the transfer of the account with Marriott in this way would eliminate the "blindspot" in seeing and managing previouly transferred Destination Club points - from the period when the points were listed with Marriott as being in your in-laws' account. You would then have no difficulty managing the old points until you finished using them (or you could rent any remaining points that you didn't use yourselves). At that point in time you could make the account transfer with Marriott and your future transfers of weeks to Destination Club points would all be visible in your new account.


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## momof5boys (Mar 16, 2018)

thank you!


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