TimeSharing Today Page 12 May / Jun, 2018
Beneficial trust
With a club, you don’ t actually own the real estate yourself. All the deeds are typically owned by a trust administered by a trustee for the benefit of the club members. Since the individual club members don’ t own real estate, the members don’ t need to be concerned with real-estate transfer laws.
Membership in vacation clubs is generally governed by each club’ s rules. It’ s like having a membership at a gym. The gym owns the facility and the machines; your membership fees give you the right to use the facility and the machines.
So, if you own points in a vacation club, you rarely have an estateplanning issue. Your club membership commonly terminates when you pass away. If you owed the club money at the time you passed on, a claim may be lodged against your estate. Some clubs may have ways for heirs to access and redeem a deceased owner’ s paid-for but unused points. Those rules are unique to each club.
Find out from your vacation club what happens when a member passes away. Get the answer in writing and keep it with your will and other important papers.
Do heirs a good deed
If you own a deeded timeshare, make arrangements before you pass away. Failure to do so can result in your heirs being stuck with a $ 2,000 + legal expense or, worse, getting named in a foreclosure lawsuit.
It’ s also a headache for your resort and can result in lengthy and expensive problems with closing your estate. Don’ t leave your kids a costly mess to clear up.
Regardless of whether you own a deeded week or points in a club, tell your heirs about your timeshare. If you don’ t, your estate may be closed before the timeshare issue is addressed. This could be very bad news for your heirs.
Fifty little countries
We like to think we live in one big country called the United States of
You are our business.
We excel at timeshare management, sales and rental. But long term relationships with our owners, based on communication and trust, are the foundation of our success.
If accountability, quality and cost containment are important to you – call us. With over 20 years experience, chances are we can help.
20 Executive Park Road Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 29928 888-433-4762 x-11113 jnahman @ hiltonheadusa. com Resort Management
America. We don’ t. We live in 50 little countries with names such as California, Florida, Nevada, and North Carolina.
In real-estate and estate-planning law, each state is its own little country, with its own set of laws that sync well with the other little countries.
For most assets, this is not a significant problem. A thousand dollars in a Bank of America checking account is the same whether you live in Detroit or Durham, and 100 shares of Disney stock in your Individual Retirement Account is the same whether you live in Bellingham or Birmingham.
A different animal
Real estate is a different animal. Remember the old“ sell you the Brooklyn Bridge” scam? How do you find out who really owns a piece of real estate, and if any liens, mortgages, or easements are attached to that property?
If I’ m interested in buying your house in Chicago, IL, am I going to search records in Orlando, FL, to find out if you are the real owner? Of course not. So if you live in Chicago but own a timeshare in Orlando, where would people look to find out about that timeshare? They would look where the real estate is located, in Orlando— not in Chicago.
This can be problematic for owners whose ownership circumstances have changed. Say you were married when you bought your timeshare. You and your spouse are listed on the deed as“ husband and wife.” That deed is recorded in the public records of the county where your real estate is located.
Later you divorce. The wife wants the timeshare. The husband doesn’ t. The divorce judge in Chicago writes into the divorce decree that the wife gets the timeshare and the husband gives up all interest. Then the wife notifies the timeshare to send her the bills at her new address.
For the next couple of years, the now ex-wife pays the maintenance fees while the ex-husband pays nothing. The ex-wife later decides to deed the week to her sister. She signs a proper deed and records it in the public records where the timeshare is located.
Who owns the week? The exhusband and the sister, because the exhusband was never properly removed from the deed.
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