TS Today - Creating a Vision for the Future of Vacation Ownership Issue #159 May/Jun 2018 | Page 6

TimeSharing Today
Page 6
Letters to
the editor
After a parent dies
My son-in-law’s father died about
three months ago. He called to tell the
timeshare resort, assuming that was all
he had to do. He is the executor and no
probate was needed. He has everything
wrapped up, and now gets a letter from
the resort stating that he must pay for the
maintenance fees.
This timeshare is in Minnesota. It would
be extremely hard to sell, as it is a fi xed week
in the low time of the year. For that reason,
none of the family members want to use it.
Do you have any suggestions, or a
resource for him? If he just refuses and
walks away, could the resort do any-
thing about it? (Thankfully the time-
shares we have purchased in Arizona
allow the family members to opt out.)
The resort says no one has ever backed
out—but I think they are lying since the
resort is suffering a lot of losses.
We have received your magazine
for many years. Here is a “cut and paste”
(see box) of one of the articles I kept.
Editor’s note: As we stated at the
bottom of the TimeSharing Today Ex-
press article, it is critical that you talk
to a Minnesota estate attorney as to how
best to resolve your son-in-law’s situa-
tion and evaluate the legal exposure of
the heirs and the estate. Also see the
article on estate planning that begins on
page 11 of this issue.
Name withheld on request
The Big Lie
A recent email survey of timeshare owners who re-
ceive TimeSharing Today Express posed this question:
“Transfer/Unburdening companies often represent
that if you own a deeded timeshare, your heirs will inherit
it when you die and they will forever be obligated to carry
the ongoing burden of paying the maintenance fees. Do
you believe that statement is True or False?”
While most respondents correctly believed the state-
ment to be false, a large number responded that the state-
ment is true. Since the Big Lie is a signifi cant determi-
native factor for many timeshare owners who pay several
thousand dollars to transfer companies to take over their
unwanted timeshares, we need to set the record straight.
A person who would inherit a timeshare (or anything
else) has a right to “disclaim,” or refuse, the bequest by
a writing fi led with the appropriate Surrogate or Probate
Court, usually within a specifi ed time limit of eight or nine
months, depending on the state where the decedent died.
This right to disclaim applies whether the timeshare is
bequeathed by a Will or goes to the heir through intestate
succession when there is no Will.
The timeshare would then pass to the person who
would have inherited the timeshare if the initial heir had
died without children. That person can also disclaim.
Eventually, the Executor or Administrator of the estate
would need to arrange with the resort to take back the
week or it would be abandoned (which is not a good result
for the resort.)
If spouses owned a timeshare jointly, the surviving
spouse could disclaim the half interest of the deceased
spouse in most states, but would continue to own the other
half interest.
Note: Always get advice of counsel when dealing
with estate planning or other legal matters.
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