How Not To Inherit Your Parents’ Timeshare
When your parents pass away, you’ll have plenty of grief to work through, challenges to tackle, and money issues to deal with. One problem you’ll want to avoid is the hassle of handling a parent’s timeshare. While you both might have had many happy vacation memories there, times and tastes change, and you may not have the interest or the funds to maintain it any longer. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to avoid that financial burden. Here’s how not to inherit your parents’ timeshare.
Talk While There’s Still Time
It’s a touchy and uncomfortable subject, but everyone needs to sit down with their parents at some point and discuss what will happen when they’re gone. As you talk about funeral arrangements, wills, and the like, bring up the subject of their timeshare and your lack of interest in it. As part of their estate, the timeshare and all its responsibilities get passed on to their heirs. However, your parents can name you as a trustee, which gives you the power to keep, sell, or abandon the property and leaves you free of any subsequent debts. They can also remove your name from the deed and avoid setting up a trust entirely. Of course, there’s always the option of them asking the company to take back the timeshare (which is uncommon but not unheard of), arrange to get out of the agreement, or sell it before they pass. Check with a lawyer for more details about enlisting the help of a timeshare cancellation service.
Don’t Use It, Ever
If you do inherit a timeshare, don’t panic; there are steps to take before you are responsible for the fees incurred by ownership. First, do not use the timeshare after you inherit it. Not even for one last vacation, for old time’s sake. Doing so takes away your right to refuse the property, so be certain you really want to give it up.
Consult a Lawyer
Estate lawyers know the ins and outs of handling and disposing of timeshares and other inheritance questions. More than likely, the lawyer will suggest filing a Disclaimer of Interest, which indicates your refusal to accept the timeshare. Check your state’s laws. Generally, you have nine months to file the disclaimer or nine months from your 21st birthday, in the case of minors. As part of the process, the executor of the will must submit a copy of the death certificate to the management company and bank holding the mortgage to stop all maintenance fees and prevent foreclosure.
Again, a Disclaimer of Interest is a permanent thing that prevents you from donating or giving away the property. Note also that once you give up your interest, the timeshare goes to the next heir, so let them know what’s happening. If they don’t want it either, they need to proceed with filing their own disclaimer. It’s best to stay connected and work together when deciding how not to inherit your parents’ timeshare.