Inheritance of parents' timeshare

[Pamplemousse]

Hi Swice and others,

There is some apprehension, but I do know that the Hawaii property has good trading value. To answer your questions, I have a general idea of how they work. I found the Marriott videos online and watched the Weeks one, as that is what my parents have. But the trading into Interval is the part that I haven't seen much of, and the Marriott videos didn't get into that too much. I've seen the printed Interval book of properties, so I know they have something everywhere.

Yes, my parents have had the weeks for many years, and they have converted them to points when they aren't planning on going to Hawaii.

I have used the timeshares. The first time was in my younger years, I stayed with them in the one bedroom oceanfront unit. They had the bedroom, I had the fold out sleeper sofa in the kitching/living room. While it's nice that one could lock it off to stay for two weeks, my back wouldn't agree with a week on the sleeper sofa again.

I have also used a week traded elsewhere. I stayed at Shadow Ridge two bedroom with some friends for a golf trip, and it worked well. It was a lot of space, and having a unit like that, two full bedrooms with a central living/kitchen, would be ideal and could be a great lock-off option for 2 weeks.

The most recent week I used was at Marriott Waiohai in Poipu. The resort was a great location, and also had the full 2 bedrooms with central living/kitchen area, that worked well for 2 couples and a baby. But the rooms were a bit dated at that time, and I believe they have been remodeled since I was there. At the time, they did not support the lock-off option.

I guess some of the apprehension is around being stuck with something and not wanting to use it, or being able to use it. The trading piece is still a little cloudy to me. I saw in the Marriott video that you can trade in a week, and then use the trade this or next year, which can really build up a savings of weeks in Interval. Does trading Marriott to Marriott properties go through Interval, or can it all be done within the Marriott system? When converting a week to points, are those the Bonoy points that can be redeemed for anything from a single night to several days at a traditional hotel? What if I was doing a road trip, and needed to stay at a different hotel each night, can that be done through points? Can it be done through Interval?

Thanks all for the knowledge sharing.

If your week is enrolled in the destination program each year (or each usage year I guess it would be better to say) you can stay in your home ownership, or you can choose to convert your week to destination points and use the points to book directly on the MVC site to another MVC property. Note that there is a “skim”- meaning the amount of points you get for electing your week to points is not enough points to book the actual week you own. You can borrow points from one year forward and bank points for a year and so effectively have 3 years worth of points to use sat once. This is for yearly weeks- not sure of the details for eoy.

Third choice is you can choose to deposit that week into interval. Once deposited the week is good for 2 years ( and you can deposit your week one year in advance of its reservation date). You can then exchange to Marriott or non- Marriott resorts that other members have deposited into II ( or that ha e been dumped there by developers).

There is also the option to convert to rewards points as was mentioned and there are are things you can “buy” with the destination points but these are of less value.

If the week is enrolled there are yearly destination club dues and they include a basic II memberships. Marriott to Marriott exchanges on II are free, there is a fee to exchange to non Marriott and upgrade fees on II for exchanging into a larger unit.

This does all take some time and effort- you need to reserve your week with Marriott a year in advance to stay in your ownership and also reserve the highest trading power week to deposit into II. There are no guarantees for exchanging, but I personally have had good luck by requesting early.

One thing I would suggest you don’t overlook is the ability to rent out your ownership if you don’t want to use it one time. You can rent out your destination points or your ownership week ( once you deposit in II you can rent it anymore). You can also offer the use to friends and family.

Hope that helps.

 

[bogey21]

Anyone else thought about leaving 40k in a trust (or some other) to help pay for maintenance fees? We only have 1 timeshare so both kids could each use it EOY. Once the mula runs out (30-40 years at this point..not sure about future). Then they can decide what to do with it.

If $40k is your number, I would put it in a joint (JTWROS) account with my kids and tell them they can do one of two things with it when I die. One, use it for MFs if they keep the Week(s) or (2) disclaim the Week(s) and use it however they want. I'm not into dictating how my kids run their lives...

George

 

[pedro47]

Thanks to the posters on this topics, I have gain some very valuable information.

 

[drlee]

One additional consideration. If the weeks are enrolled, re title will get them disenrolled (as there will be two owners). If you put them into a family trust that you and your sibling would take control of, then everything stays the same: status level, enrollment status and ability to trade for points, escape lockoff fees, etc. The cost to do this would be a few hundred dollars, but may be similar to the cost of changing the ownership.

 

[tcornel]

A question for the estate attorney. If you disclaim the timeshare remains in the estate and must be disposed of before the estate can close, correct? So the executor of the estate has the responsibility to dispose of the timeshare. The executor is responsible for settling all obligations and must retain funds to do so or be personally liable for any unpaid debts. If my understanding is correct all you are doing by disclaiming is passing the disposal onto whomever is the executor. Of course there are the legal fees, probate court fees, disposal costs to get rid of it. This assumes the estate has assets that could be inherited. If you don't want the timeshare best to get rid of it (by whatever means) while at least one parent is alive.

 

[Dean]

A question for the estate attorney. If you disclaim the timeshare remains in the estate and must be disposed of before the estate can close, correct? So the executor of the estate has the responsibility to dispose of the timeshare. The executor is responsible for settling all obligations and must retain funds to do so or be personally liable for any unpaid debts. If my understanding is correct all you are doing by disclaiming is passing the disposal onto whomever is the executor. Of course there are the legal fees, probate court fees, disposal costs to get rid of it. This assumes the estate has assets that could be inherited. If you don't want the timeshare best to get rid of it (by whatever means) while at least one parent is alive.

I'm not at attorney but that is my understanding as well. However, there are ways to deal with the timeshare that are likely better than forcing someone to accept a timeshare they don't want. One can sell it, give it away, pay someone to take it or convince the company to take it back. I'm also told that the courts are prone to simply removing it once they are convinced you have done what you can to dispose of it unsuccessfully and sufficient time has elapsed. I understand usually 12-15 months.

 

[oldxr]

I think Airbnb has replaced time shares . More places to go and no maintenance fees . I can agree that some body might not want to inherit 1. It’s always safest never to sign anything .

 

[AL]

My parents, who are still alive and well, plan on giving their two timeshares to my brother and I, in their will. We'd both get one each. My mom has brought this up many times, and also brought it up with the MVC people the last time they were at a resort. The MVC folks suggested that they sign me on as a co-signer now, to make that future owner transition easier.

However, I'm a little on the fence for the timeshare thing. I don't have any timeshares of my own, and read the stories of people desperate to get out of their timeshare. While doing the week at the resort would be fine, I feel that the yearly costs is in line with what it would cost to book hotel room, or similar villa in the same area.

Having done some research, I see that a way "out" of the future inherited timeshare would be to file a Disclaimer Of Interest. However if we took MVC's advice, and put me on as a co-owner of it now, I believe there would be no way "out" during an inheritance event.

My questions are:

1. Am I right in keeping my name off the co-ownership, and just let the will/probate events to take their course?
2. When funds/property are distributed from the will, am I able to accept some items, but refuse (disclaimer of interest) on just the timeshare?
   
3. I've read that if they were to pass away, and I booked/used the timeshare like it was mine, I probably could not do a disclaimer of interest after having used the property/benefit. In the past they've traded the week for a week elsewhere, which I had stayed at, and I've also made a payment to their dues at one point many years ago. Does that disqualify me from a disclaimer of interest?
4. Lastly, I've read that MVC sales are a little better than than some others, but not as good as Disney. Should I just accept the timeshare, use it a couple times, and then sell it if I don't feel comfortable with it? Will it be easy enough to sell? Would I make a little bit of money in the process?

This is the 1st TUG reference to inheriting a time share I've seen on TUG. I'm not sure this information would be useful to you but others might benefit. My wife's parent are owners in Wyndham for over 40 years starting in the Fairfield group which was taken over by Wyndham. We purchased our own time shares based on our experiences with her folks also starting in Fairfield. When her parents became elderly and were no longer able to travel we began to inquire about how the inheritance worked as my wife is executor for both. We had been avoiding sales, now "owner update" meetings like the plague. However since we now had a question that needed to be answered, we began to attend. At 1st asking about the inheritance procedure was put off or ignored. Members here are well aware of the promise of perpetual ownership passed on to be a huge part of the sales pitch. Sounds great when you hear it but, at the time, there is no reason to explore the way the process would work. I became more insistent at the "owner up date" often drawing the ire of the presenter. Apparently they do not want the suckers assembled to have any doubts raised about their sales pitch. Finally while in Williamsburg, we walked out of a meeting when we were once again put off by the sales presenter. As we left, this person caught up with us and gave us a honest answer finally. He told us in order to inherit, our daughters would have to 1st become owners. He estimated they would have to make a purchase of at least 120,000 points. Since then we have occasionally attended "owner updates" for the interjecting at the point of the perpetuity sales point. What fun! Really throws them off their game. On one occasion in Myrtle Beach following our trolling, our numbers were drawn winning a couple door prizes. I could not stop laughing. A really fun "owners update!"

Thanks,
I'm new here, so if this is better in the non-Marriott general timeshare channel, I can repost it there.

 

[Larry M]

I believe your usage would have to be after your parents passed before it could hurt your ability to disclaim. I also don’t believe your helping pay MF’s while your parents were still living would harm your ability to disclaim either.

I agree with the others. Don’t add your name now, and when the time comes, you can make a decision based on your situation at that point in time.

Think about the practicality of this.

• Mike sent a check several years ago.
• It went to the Accounts Receivable department.
• They posted it to his parents' account as payment-amount and date. Nothing else recorded.
• They sent the check to the bank for payment.
• There's nothing on record to show where the payment came from.

Even if some sleazy lawyer thought about arguing that this committed Mike, no evidence is available to prove it.

Larry
(feeling grumpy this morning)

 

[Larry M]

Anyone else thought about leaving 40k in a trust (or some other) to help pay for maintenance fees? We only have 1 timeshare so both kids could each use it EOY. Once the mula runs out (30-40 years at this point..not sure about future). Then they can decide what to do with it.

JT, is this a fixed-week timeshare. It won't be around in 30-40 years. Maybe not 10. Most developers can't see being forced to maintain aging and decrepit buildings forever. And major renovations mean owner assessments, and figuring how to house residents (who have contracts) while construction occurs.

That is why fixed-week contracts have a sunset clause, also known as a drop-dead date. When that date occurs, the "association" must hold a vote. If there are 100 units and 104 weeks (EOY owners), that's 10,400 votes. For the vote to pass 52,001 votes are needed. It's impossible to get that many owners to respond, much less all vote positive.

In the event that the vote fails, the association is required to sell the property and distribute the proceeds among all the owners.

The drop-dead date for mine is the January 19, 2026 at 4pm. What's yours? No need to commit plans beyond that date.

 

[terces]

We willingly bought timeshares after much research. Our number one choice would have been MVC but they charge a very high “activation” fee to resale buyers and so the cost was out of line for us to get into this system so we bought our number two choice which is HGVC. However, during my research the most important question - on a scale of 1 - 10, it is an 11 - was “can I get out of this thing when I no longer want it”. Everything else pales in importance to this one question. Some of the individual units in HGVC are bad and do not meet this criteria and a few are in high demand because they have relatively low Annual Fees. I really like the Marriott resorts and know they can give you a lifetime of fabulous holidays for a low cost. The one question I would want to answer, is if you wait to receive them as an inheritance will you be required to pay this stupid activation fee which is currently at $3 per point. Also, I am in Canada and just received an expensive watch as an inheritance and now I understand I have to pay capital gains tax on the value so depending on the tax laws you might be best to go on title now. Personally I would jump at the opportunity to own Marriott for free.

 

[curbysplace]

Just an FYI. If you are considering a disclaimer each state has its own disclaimer statutes. Disclaimer statutes can vary state to state. This means the state where the probate is filed (the domicile of the decedent) normally determines which disclaimer statutes control. You need to seek legal advice in the state of your parent’s domicile (and note that domicile may or may not be where they “reside”). In my state if you disclaim your interest in anything, it passes as though YOU predeceased the decedent and the decedent’s Will or trust controls who/what (i.e.charity) is next in line. This means it doesn’t necessarily remain in the estate.

 

[silentg]

I think Airbnb has replaced time shares . More places to go and no maintenance fees . I can agree that some body might not want to inherit 1. It’s always safest never to sign anything .

I don’t think this is true timeshares don’t cost as much as a week stay in an Airbnb. The Airbnb charge per night plus cleaning fee and other fees that exceed the average cost of a week of timeshare.
I’m not saying the OP should invest in the Timeshare. He should discuss with his parents what they own and use it if they are not, try before committing to ownership.
Silentg

 

[coachBoris]

I'm not a lawyer, but I do have an opinion:

If you have doubts about ownership in perpetuity, do not put your name on it now. Being on the title makes you a shared owner, and jointly liable for maintenance fees and such. There is no way to claim disinterest after the fact if your name is on the deed. Let your parents name it in their Will as property bequeathed to you. You then have the right to refuse it, and it would revert back to the resort, unless another person you know might want to receive it as a gift. Your parents will be gone by then, so they won't know what you do with it.

You don't indicate your parents' ages, but if they continue to own the timeshare(s) for another ten or twenty years, who knows how high the maintenance fees might be by then. Unless you're prepared to owe that debt every time it comes due, keep your name off the deed.

You are right to be cautious - it's quite easy to get into a timeshare, but can be very difficult to get out of one.

Dave

My parents, who are still alive and well, plan on giving their two timeshares to my brother and I, in their will. We'd both get one each. My mom has brought this up many times, and also brought it up with the MVC people the last time they were at a resort. The MVC folks suggested that they sign me on as a co-signer now, to make that future owner transition easier.

However, I'm a little on the fence for the timeshare thing. I don't have any timeshares of my own, and read the stories of people desperate to get out of their timeshare. While doing the week at the resort would be fine, I feel that the yearly costs is in line with what it would cost to book hotel room, or similar villa in the same area.

Having done some research, I see that a way "out" of the future inherited timeshare would be to file a Disclaimer Of Interest. However if we took MVC's advice, and put me on as a co-owner of it now, I believe there would be no way "out" during an inheritance event.

My questions are:

1. Am I right in keeping my name off the co-ownership, and just let the will/probate events to take their course?
2. When funds/property are distributed from the will, am I able to accept some items, but refuse (disclaimer of interest) on just the timeshare?
   
3. I've read that if they were to pass away, and I booked/used the timeshare like it was mine, I probably could not do a disclaimer of interest after having used the property/benefit. In the past they've traded the week for a week elsewhere, which I had stayed at, and I've also made a payment to their dues at one point many years ago. Does that disqualify me from a disclaimer of interest?
4. Lastly, I've read that MVC sales are a little better than than some others, but not as good as Disney. Should I just accept the timeshare, use it a couple times, and then sell it if I don't feel comfortable with it? Will it be easy enough to sell? Would I make a little bit of money in the process?

Thanks,
I'm new here, so if this is better in the non-Marriott general timeshare channel, I can repost it there.

My parents, who are still alive and well, plan on giving their two timeshares to my brother and I, in their will. We'd both get one each. My mom has brought this up many times, and also brought it up with the MVC people the last time they were at a resort. The MVC folks suggested that they sign me on as a co-signer now, to make that future owner transition easier.

However, I'm a little on the fence for the timeshare thing. I don't have any timeshares of my own, and read the stories of people desperate to get out of their timeshare. While doing the week at the resort would be fine, I feel that the yearly costs is in line with what it would cost to book hotel room, or similar villa in the same area.

Having done some research, I see that a way "out" of the future inherited timeshare would be to file a Disclaimer Of Interest. However if we took MVC's advice, and put me on as a co-owner of it now, I believe there would be no way "out" during an inheritance event.

My questions are:

1. Am I right in keeping my name off the co-ownership, and just let the will/probate events to take their course?
2. When funds/property are distributed from the will, am I able to accept some items, but refuse (disclaimer of interest) on just the timeshare?
   
3. I've read that if they were to pass away, and I booked/used the timeshare like it was mine, I probably could not do a disclaimer of interest after having used the property/benefit. In the past they've traded the week for a week elsewhere, which I had stayed at, and I've also made a payment to their dues at one point many years ago. Does that disqualify me from a disclaimer of interest?
4. Lastly, I've read that MVC sales are a little better than than some others, but not as good as Disney. Should I just accept the timeshare, use it a couple times, and then sell it if I don't feel comfortable with it? Will it be easy enough to sell? Would I make a little bit of money in the process?

Thanks,
I'm new here, so if this is better in the non-Marriott general timeshare channel, I can repost it there.

You are very smart to be thinking about this. My wife and I have had the same conversations with our 3 daughters, we own 3 (3BR HGVC Sea World, 2BR HGVC Las Vegas BLVD and 2BR MVC Aruba Surf Club) properties and would not put them in the will if they don't want them, only one (the one that is married) shows any interest. We would not ever recommend they put their name on the deed at this point. If we pass they have an option, if we add their names they don't have an option as co-owners.