Inheriting a timeshare ?

Mgman1965

I've been told a relative who has died has left me their timeshare in Spain (though not heard anything official yet).
I don't holiday abroad, have no interest in doing so, and really don't want it, or the rip-off annual charges that come with it.

So can a timeshare contract be willed ?

Am I now obligated to take it and the charges on ?

Can I tell the executer I don't want it, and if so, what will the executer and the timeshare company do about it, and the annual charges ?

p00hsticks

People over on the Deaths, Funerals and Probate board may know

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/deaths-funerals-probate

I'm assuming your relative was in the UK ?

Under UK law you are entitled to disclaim an inheritance.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/wills-and-probate/content/101535

Once you've refused it, it's really not your problem what happens to it.

I imagine it would pass to the residual beneficiaries if they wanted it - it'll be up to the executor to try to liquidate the asset if no-one wants to take it on.

davidmcn

The relevant law usually goes with the location of the property, so I suspect this is a Spanish inheritance question rather than a (UK) House Buying Renting & Selling question - but (assuming it does actually have a net value of some sort) I would suggest inviting the executor to sell it (and you get the proceeds). Not sure how easy it is to find buyers though even at the best of times.

princeofpounds

English will or Spanish will? Assuming this is being dealt with under English law:

Yes, a contract can be willed, it's an asset (potentially!).

No you are not obligated to take it. But you have several options:

1) Disclaim the will. Give up your rights to everything in the will as a package. It then follow normal rules of inheritance as if you didn't exist (alternative beneficiaries and, if none specified, intestacy rules).

2) Deed of variation - agree to change who inherits it, before you do.

3) Inherit and gift it away.

Probably 1) or 2) are most useful for you. Even if you see the timeshare as a pain, it probably has some kind of value. The timeshare company would probably buy it back even if no-one else wants to, although the price may be poor.

greatcrested

I agree with the options above, but as a first step I'd speak to the executers and try to find out more about the contract involved eg

* name of managing company (then google them!)

* What the timeshare comprises eg number of weeks use; type of accommodation/location

* annual (and any other) charges/fees

You're then in a better postion to understand

* whether you, your friends, family etc might actually want to make use of it in future

* whether it has a re-sale value and how much

* whether the value (cash/sae or free holidays) outweigh the costs

* how easily it could be sold ie to realise some cash

One problem of course is the timing. Even if it's a well-run timeshare with a ready 2nd hand market, now may be a bad time to try to sell given people are not really travelling much.......

zagubov

You probably want to avoid the timeshare like the plague. There are numerous threads on this forum all about the difficulty of liquidating them or even getting rid of them.

inspectorperez

As a general rule of thumb, and as previous poster has commented, avoid!!

I (and I have owned several timeshares for many years) regard ownership as an asset (for some by choice) expressed in intangible terms and a liability in financial terms, if that makes sense.

There are many forms of timeshare ownership, e.g. fixed weeks/floating weeks/points, some for a defined period of time and others in perpetuity. Potentially a very complex area and best avoided.

eddddy

Just as background info - the 'problem timeshares' are the ones where the maintenance fees exceed rental values.

For example, a timeshare apartment week has an annual maintenance fee of £1,000, but similar apartments on the same resort can be rented for £600 a week.  So you'd be taking on a loss of £400 per year. And the timeshare will be unsaleable - nobody else would pay to take on a loss of £400 per year.

There are old anecdotes about Timeshare companies freezing people's estates so that they can continue to collect maintenance fees, until the estate is bankrupt...

Death doesn't bring an end to timeshare fee

I did not realise until after my husband died last November that not only must I go bankrupt to get out of these payments, but that my will is useless. Apparently, my estate will be frozen so that the timeshare manager, Macdonald Resorts Limited, will be able to pick at my money every year for eternity.

Link: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1323162/TONY-HETHERINGTON-Death-doesnt-bring-end-timeshare-fee.html

But I think newer laws may have addressed this.  Anyway, if the Timeshare is unsaleable, the executors probably need to take professional advice - and watch out for the scammers who claim to help people get out of Timeshare contracts. 

Mgman1965

zagubov said:

You probably want to avoid the timeshare like the plague. There are numerous threads on this forum all about the difficulty of liquidating them or even getting rid of them.

As above, read all the threads and horror stories of companies offering to sell them (most seem to be actually worthless "secondhand) and the timeshare companies persuing owners.

To be honest, I don't want the bother, worry or cost of something I have no interest in (it's not even as if it was my choice of destination).