Quitclaim Question - Help Please!

[catwgirl]

A friend of mine is losing her husband due to a terminal illness. She really can't afford the timeshares that they own jointly. Can she quit claim her share to him, thereby terminating the obligation when he passes?

All of them are fully paid.

 

[Tuggernaut]

I cannot tell you whether the obligation to pay the maintenance fees will end when the husband dies because I am not an attorney. However, below is some basic info on Quitclaim deeds.

Interest in the properties can be transferred from the two people (a married couple) to just the one person (the husband) by a Quitclaim Deed. A Quitclaim Deed is typically used to transfer property among people well-known to each other (such as immediate family members) because these people (here the married couple) already definitively know whether there are liens or encumbrances on the property such a mortgage and the details. Anyway, the selling price ("consideration") is typically specified to be one dollar. A quitclaim deed will need to be prepared for each existing deed (timeshare). Be aware that that different states & counties within those states may have different formats/legal wording requirements for deeds. This means that if the various timeshares are all located in different states/counties, each Quitclaim deed may need to have a slightly different format/legal wording to comply with that county's requirements.

Your friend must first obtain certified copies of all of the existing deeds (if she does not already have copies). She can obtain a certified copy by contacting the counties in which the timeshares are located. There will be a small fee to be mailed a certified copy. She will need to EXACTLY copy much of the information in these deeds (especially the exact legal description of the property) to prepare the Quitclaim deeds.

Your friend may consider the shortest duration (lowest cost) membership at www.RocketLawyer.com to prepare the QuitClaim deeds. I believe that it is less than $100. The "free" 7-day membership is pretty useless. They have a Quitclaim deed preparation tool there.

The deeds are then signed by the GRANTOR(S) (the Grantors are the sellers which here would be both the husband & wife) in front of witnesses who also sign and a Notary Public who then stamps & signs.

The quitclaim deeds are then filed in their respective counties. The county will charge a small fee for this.

Finally, the Quitclaim deeds are sent to the timeshare company (for example - Marriott) so they can update their records. Contact them first to obtain the forms & procedure. They may charge up to a few hundred dollars processing fee for this.

 

[TUGBrian]

dont see why not, have you tried to give them away or give them back first?

wife is still likely going to have to deal with disposing of them as part of the estate when he passes even if shes no longer on the deed. (or she could just ignore it all!)

 

[CO skier]

A friend of mine is losing her husband due to a terminal illness. She really can't afford the timeshares that they own jointly. Can she quit claim her share to him, thereby terminating the obligation when he passes?

All of them are fully paid.

Without knowing the state of residence for the owners and the state where the timeshare is located,

it is impossible to say.

 

[catwgirl]

Thank you wonderful tuggers for your advice. I completed the quit claim deed this morning and fingers crossed that it will do the trick. Thanks again.

 

[dioxide45]

Thank you wonderful tuggers for your advice. I completed the quit claim deed this morning and fingers crossed that it will do the trick. Thanks again.

You still need to have the timeshare recognize the transfer.

 

[chapjim]

dont see why not, have you tried to give them away or give them back first?

wife is still likely going to have to deal with disposing of them as part of the estate when he passes even if shes no longer on the deed. (or she could just ignore it all!)

We tell people all the time that children can refuse an inheritance. Is a wife any different (assuming as you do that she is no longer on the deed)? Community property states may be different.

I think this is perilously close to being a fraudulent transfer but I went to law school so long ago and have never practiced so I can't really say. It doesn't smell very good.

Better to get someone like @davidvel to weigh in. Someone who does this stuff.

 

[Ski-Dad]

This is a reasonable plan provided the resort recognizes the transfer. She will not be worse off for having done so.

 

[LannyPC]

Can she quit claim her share to him, thereby terminating the obligation when he passes?

She can do so but that won't necessarily "[terminate] the obligation when he passes". As has been discussed and pointed out many times here on TUG, if a TS owner dies, the Ts or its contract doesn't "die" with the owner. The owner's estate or estate's executor still has to take care of this. What happens when an owner dies varies from state to state.

 

[dioxide45]

She can do so but that won't necessarily "[terminate] the obligation when he passes". As has been discussed and pointed out many times here on TUG, if a TS owner dies, the Ts or its contract doesn't "die" with the owner. The owner's estate or estate's executor still has to take care of this. What happens when an owner dies varies from state to state.

I suspect the OPs plan is to just ignore the timeshare deed and not have it probated. At some point the timeshare entity will foreclose (maybe). In any event, the expectation is that the timeshare can't come after the OP for the maintenance fees. They didn't specify if there is a mortgage. If there is, then a quit claim won't remove their name from the mortgage or note. They will be 100% liable for paying off the loan or having that foreclosed on.

 

[chapjim]

I suspect the OPs plan is to just ignore the timeshare deed and not have it probated. At some point the timeshare entity will foreclose (maybe). In any event, the expectation is that the timeshare can't come after the OP for the maintenance fees. They didn't specify if there is a mortgage. If there is, then a quit claim won't remove their name from the mortgage or note. They will be 100% liable for paying off the loan or having that foreclosed on.

OP says all are "fully paid."

 

[davidvel]

I suspect the OPs plan is to just ignore the timeshare deed and not have it probated. At some point the timeshare entity will foreclose (maybe). In any event, the expectation is that the timeshare can't come after the OP for the maintenance fees. They didn't specify if there is a mortgage. If there is, then a quit claim won't remove their name from the mortgage or note. They will be 100% liable for paying off the loan or having that foreclosed on.

This is probably the best course, but not necessarily "the most legal." I am not a probate specialist but if Leslie was still here, she would likely say it has to go through probate. Without knowing the extent of the couple's assets and prior estate planning, it is impossible to answer the OPs question.

 

[VacationForever]

You still need to have the timeshare recognize the transfer.

+1. If this final step is not done, the resort will still have both the husband's and wife's names as the owners on their record.

 

[catwgirl]

+1. If this final step is not done, the resort will still have both the husband's and wife's names as the owners on their record.

This will be done. The resort is charging $200 to take her off.