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[ 2014 ] Parents passed away

Fish66

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So my parents purchased three timeshares. Mom just passed away and me and my siblings are stuck with these timeshares none of us want or really can afford. Can we just bury them with mom? We didn't sign up for them at all.
 

Passepartout

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Please accept our condolences for your loss.

Short answer. No one HAS to accept any inheritance. If no one wants the timeshares, the executor of the parents' estate should send copies of the death certificate(s) of those named on the deed(s) to the resorts- or their management companies and state that there are no heirs who want these properties. Offer to quit-claim them back if that's how they want to proceed.

Just make clear that the estate has no funds available to pay for any ongoing expenses related to these timeshares.

Jim
 

DeniseM

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You are NOT stuck with them - contact the attorney and tell them you want to file the paperwork with the court to refuse the inheritance. This must be done before the deeds are transferred to you. Once you allow them to be transferred to your name, you have a much bigger problem.
 

DeniseM

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So there's no fee for quit-claim?

A quit-claim can be refused by the resort - you cannot FORCE them to take it back by deeding it to them. You need to file the paperwork to refuse the inheritance with the court to make it final and legal.
 
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Passepartout

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So there's no fee for quit-claim?

It would depend on how much of a DIY person you are. Once you get the authorization that the resort will accept a deed-back (you can't just produce a quit-claim and present it to them), many people simply copy the deed, change the names of the grantor/grantee, and send it to the county for registration. There are also people here on TUG who do transfers for a couple hundred $$.

So, it might not be free, but should be a lot less than being saddled with timeshares you don't want.

Jim
 

DeniseM

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This is the sticking point: "Once you get the authorization that the resort will accept a deed-back (you can't just produce a quit-claim and present it to them),"

The resort would much rather have you as a new paying owner, than to take the timeshare back, so it is not easy to get them to accept a deed back.

However, if you legally refuse the inheritance, you don't need the resort's permission. It basically forces the resort to take it back, if the heir's refuse it. The resort would rather take it back, than have it sitting in "limbo."
 

Beaglemom3

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Fish,
Sorry about your loss. I've been there.

Did your parents leave a will ?

I advise you to contact an attorney for guidance. If you cannot afford one, please call a Law Clinic center or Legal Aide center.


You do not have to inherit anything. You can disclaim an inheritance or bequest.

Do take Denise's suggestion of contacting the resort first.


Good luck.


-
 
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DeniseM

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Give Jim credit for that! :D

Beaglemom3 - what is the name of the "thingy" one files to refuse an inheritance?
 

Beaglemom3

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A disclaimer or inheritance disclaimer, but disclaimer is the most used.

I'd make sure that there is or isn't a will first. It might have been left to someone who wanted it or someone she didn't like. :D

Whoopsie, yes, Jim, too ! :D

ETA: Check with your state laws about disclaimers. Better yet, contact an attorney who can guide you correctly. Like plumbing or wiring, the law isn't for D-I-Y ers.




-
 
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Fish66

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there's a will but it's not specifically referred to in the will. Lawyer is a good thing....this time ;)
 

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BocaBoy

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You can refuse the inheritance of the timeshare, but the estate still owns it and the estate (not the heirs) is liable for ongoing maintenance fees until it gets rid of it. The estate cannot simply distribute its assets and stiff its creditors. So don't expect to get a full payout of the other assets in the estate while the estate still has liabilities from the timeshare.
 

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For those of us with timeshares, would it work to put them in the will and make the bequest back to the resort?
 

DeniseM

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For those of us with timeshares, would it work to put them in the will and make the bequest back to the resort?

This is the same as deeding it back - it may or may not work, because the resort does not have to accept the inheritance, it could go back to the estate, and then the heirs would have to "decline" the inheritance. See the discussion above.
 

napfabob

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Unwanted Time Shares

The law allows an individual beneficiary to "disclaim" an asset being left to them under the terms of a will or trust. Normally, unless specifically stated in the will or trust to the contrary, the devise then passes to the next person in line assuming the original beneficiary had died. (that is the assumption made). As a non-attorney, but experienced estate planner, this is an issue that has recently been brought up for discussion among myself and some pretty bright estate planning attorneys. If we had the chance to plan this "before" the death of the owner, we would isolate the timeshare in the estate as the "Only" asset and have all other asset titled in a Revocable Trust prior to the death of the time share owner. The will would then leave the time share to the children and after death, the owners (children) would all "disclaim" the time share. At this point, the executor would then advise the probate court that no one took the timeshare and that there is no money "in the probate estate" to pay fees of any kind, including transfer fees. The executor would then advise the management company of the situation and basically tell them that the estate is deadlocked and there is no owner to take the time share nor monies to pay any fee. Our conclusion (our best guess) was that if the management company continues to refused to take back the time share, then simply leave the estate open forever (No additional probate fees to the best of my knowledge) At some point, it was our collective opinion that the management company would give in if for no other reason then to try to resell the unit.
In the current situation, be careful not to get caught lying to the management company or the court that there is "No money to pay the fees' especially if other funds have been distributed to the beneficiaries that "could have been used" to pay the fees.
Again, I am not an attorney and you could discuss this with your attorney as a possible option. Good luck
 

DeniseM

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This has been discussed before, and attorneys experienced with TS's have opined that the estate only has to pay the CURRENT maintenance fee bill(s) to meet the letter of the law, and then the estate can be distributed to the heirs - they are not obligated to pay the MF for all eternity.
 

bogey21

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Beneficiaries need to check and find out if they have to file the disclaimer within so many days of the death. This may not be so, but it is best to find out and be dealing with a full deck.

George
 

Rent_Share

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You can refuse the inheritance of the timeshare, but the estate still owns it and the estate (not the heirs) is liable for ongoing maintenance fees until it gets rid of it. The estate cannot simply distribute its assets and stiff its creditors. So don't expect to get a full payout of the other assets in the estate while the estate still has liabilities from the timeshare.

The only liability the estate has is the current year (or any delinquent) maintenance fee, yes the estate owes those, but the estate can close and distribute the remaining assets as long as the current year's fees are paid.

http://www.timesharetrap.com/how-to-refuse-a-timeshare-inheritance.html
 

CO skier

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This has been discussed before, and attorneys experienced with TS's have opined that the estate only has to pay the CURRENT maintenance fee bill(s) to meet the letter of the law, and then the estate can be distributed to the heirs - they are not obligated to pay the MF for all eternity.

The net effect, then, for the other owners at the timeshare is the same as a foreclosure or Viking Ship transfer; the owners pick up the tab through higher maintenance fees.

One of the big selling points at the timeshare presentation is, "You can pass it on to your heirs." Many heirs do not want a timeshare, so the timeshare HOAs will have to find some way to resell these abandoned weeks.

The points-based timeshares can just resell the points. This will be a challenge, though, for smaller, fixed-week timeshares where the original developer is no longer in the picture.
 

DeniseM

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Don't get me wrong - I don't advocate dumping your timeshares on your kids. It is far better to implement an exit plan while you are still breathing.

My main purpose is to counter the "Timeshare Rescue" companies who all swear that your children will be forced to inherit your unwanted timeshares, so you should give them a lot of money, to take your TS's off your hands.

The BEST practice is to get give away/sell your unwanted timeshares yourself.

BTW - this is not the same as a foreclosure, or the Viking Ship method, because it would be an orderly and legal transfer of the timeshare deed from the Estate to the HOA - not abandonment.
 

AL

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We are in much the same boat!

We began going to Wyndham "owner updates" on our visits to see if we could get some assistance with the issue. Wyndham uses the "in perpetuity" to sell their times shares. But they never explain exactly how it works and no one asks, because after all, you are not exactly on your death beds when you make a purchase. My father-in-law passed away two years ago and my mother-in-law can no longer travel.
Presenters at these updates - aka sales meetings - would avoid those questions and quite often chastise us for even making an attempt to learn how "ownership in perpetuity" works. Finally at last, one of the sale persons followed us out the door and, making sure he was not observed, informed us that heirs would have to make a purchase to be eligible to inherit their parents' time shares. We asked what purchase would be required - without knowing specifically the details of my in-laws ownership - he quoted to us "95,000 to 125,000 additional points." We were floored! We then attended another "owner update" and when the "perpetuity" benefit was presented we inquired if the information we had been given about a point purchase requirement to inherit we were escorted out of the meeting.
 

vacationhopeful

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We began going to Wyndham "owner updates" on our visits to see if we could get some assistance with the issue. Wyndham uses the "in perpetuity" to sell their times shares. But they never explain exactly how it works and no one asks, because after all, you are not exactly on your death beds when you make a purchase. My father-in-law passed away two years ago and my mother-in-law can no longer travel.
Presenters at these updates - aka sales meetings - would avoid those questions and quite often chastise us for even making an attempt to learn how "ownership in perpetuity" works. Finally at last, one of the sale persons followed us out the door and, making sure he was not observed, informed us that heirs would have to make a purchase to be eligible to inherit their parents' time shares. We asked what purchase would be required - without knowing specifically the details of my in-laws ownership - he quoted to us "95,000 to 125,000 additional points." We were floored! We then attended another "owner update" and when the "perpetuity" benefit was presented we inquired if the information we had been given about a point purchase requirement to inherit we were escorted out of the meeting.

Actually, if you want the ownership and your parents have a VIP status ... you can keep the status (as long as the number of points you take keep you at that level) ... it is written in the Member's Directory in the "VIP Benefits" section. NO POINTS NEEDED TO BE BROUGHT to do that....

Sales weasels will always tell you, "to do anything with Wyndham, you need to BUY MORE POINTS". Just remember these words, "If their lips are moving, they are lying".
 

CO skier

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BTW - this is not the same as a foreclosure, or the Viking Ship method, because it would be an orderly and legal transfer of the timeshare deed from the Estate to the HOA - not abandonment.

A foreclosure is just as orderly (if an involuntary repossession can be called that) and legal.

The legality of the Viking ships has not been tested (AFAIK). Some states have passed laws to address this business model, but I do not know if anyone has been prosecuted.

Foreclosures, Viking Ships and disclaimed inheritances are all the same and just as bad news to the timeshare owners, because the previous owner abandoned their timeshare without finding a replacement, dues-paying buyer, and all three of these exit plans leave the remaining owners with a mounting bad debt bill.
 
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