Inheriting Vidanta?

[buzglyd]

A friend of mine contacted me asking about inheriting a Vidanta membership. Her uncle was a Catholic priest in San Diego county (I am NOT making this up!) and owned Vidanta. He died and left it to her. I told her she is under no obligation to accept it. Wrong answer.

She WANTS it because it is paid for and her uncle really loved it. She‘s hoping to continue usage. She spoke to them in the Los Cabo’s office and they gave her the run around. I told her they won’t make it easy because it is paid for and no benefit to them to allow you to continue usage.

Is it even possible to inherit a Right to Use product? I told her I would ask but not to expect any miracles. Pun Intended!

 

[Eric B]

RTU contracts (first 10 years) and certificates (renewable every 10 years for 100 years) for Vidanta all include a paragraph that covers "Assignment" of the contract/certificate. If he owned it for 10 years, only the certificate would be left - those typically have the clause in the first few pages of the contract and it typically provides that "[t]his program can only be transferred or assigned by the Certificate Holder to Certificate Holder's immediate family members (parents, children, and grandchildren) or heirs." If it was in the last 10 years and it is a contract as well, the clause is a bit longer and requires written consent of the company, while will be granted only for contracts paid in full after payment of a transfer fee that is waived in the case of transfers to the Member's immediate family members (parents, children, and grandchildren) or heirs.

The Los Cabos office she spoke with may have been the sales department and they would have little incentive to figure things out and get her the right information. She should speak with Member Services, either make an appointment with them if she is down there now or call the Vidanta customer service number (800-292-9446) and specifically ask for Member Services to speak about an inherited contract so they connect her to the proper folks. They will understand that it's in the company's best interest to transfer the RTU to her because she'll be a part of their continuing customer base.

It might be worth accepting depending on the perks her uncle had negotiated for, which I've heard transfer with inheritance but not sale. One down side is the limitations Vidanta has for exchanging in if you own with them. If she only wants to go there every 3 years or so, the 1 in 3 rule wouldn't be too big a deal and it's typically cheaper to go there on an exchange rather than owning. If she wants to go more frequently, accepting the ownership could be the way to go and is supported by the contracts/certificates.

Happy to discuss with her further if she has any questions.

 

[buzglyd]

Thank you very much. I knew I would find an expert here.