Beneficiary obligation to accept

[Lot249]

New Jersey
Can you reject any bequeathment which carries the acceptance of a continued monetary obligation?
Case in point, if you were to inherit the ownership of a timeshare agreement or contract, are you required to accept?
I recently listened to a radio advertisement offering a service to help cancel a timeshare contract. In that advertisement, it was stated, "even after your death, the contract will become an obligation to your family". Unless a family member(s) are listed as co-owners of the timeshare, how can the continuance of this obligation be forced upon anyone to accept?
Thank you in advance for your replies.

 

[quincy]

New Jersey
Can you reject any bequeathment which carries the acceptance of a continued monetary obligation?
Case in point, if you were to inherit the ownership of a timeshare agreement or contract, are you required to accept?

Yes, you can reject any bequeathment.

No, you are not required to accept the agreement.

 

[Just Blue]

New Jersey
Can you reject any bequeathment which carries the acceptance of a continued monetary obligation?
Case in point, if you were to inherit the ownership of a timeshare agreement or contract, are you required to accept?
I recently listened to a radio advertisement offering a service to help cancel a timeshare contract. In that advertisement, it was stated, "even after your death, the contract will become an obligation to your family". Unless a family member(s) are listed as co-owners of the timeshare, how can the continuance of this obligation be forced upon anyone to accept?
Thank you in advance for your replies.

Those advertisers are scammers trying to scare the people too pea brained to realize that our children do not inherit our debt.

 

[adjusterjack]

"even after your death, the contract will become an obligation to your family"

our children do not inherit our debt.

Many articles seem to perpetuate that belief.

Unfortunately, both those statements can, indirectly, be true.

Upon the death of the time share owner, the obligations of the time share become the obligations of the estate. Those obligations, like any other debt, must be addressed by the executor or representative of the estate before the heirs get their shares.

In other words, the continuing cost of a time share reduces your inheritance. If the executor distributes all the estate's assets without properly addressing the time share, the executor can be held personally responsible for the obligations.

Of course, like many things in life, there are workarounds if properly planned for.

Consult an estate planning attorney if you or your parents own a time share.

 

[zddoodah]

Can you reject any bequeathment which carries the acceptance of a continued monetary obligation?

Yes.

if you were to inherit the ownership of a timeshare agreement or contract, are you required to accept?

No.

I recently listened to a radio advertisement offering a service to help cancel a timeshare contract. In that advertisement, it was stated, "even after your death, the contract will become an obligation to your family". Unless a family member(s) are listed as co-owners of the timeshare, how can the continuance of this obligation be forced upon anyone to accept?

Obviously, not every timeshare contract is the same. However, at a minimum, the estate of a timeshare owner will have some obligations following the owner's death. That could translate to the person's heirs receiving less than they otherwise would have received.

So...is your post just a matter of idle curiosity as a result of having heard the commercial? Or do you or does someone close to you own a timeshare?

 

[Lot249]

I'm always curious about claims or statements made that don't sound right in my ear. Yes, someone close to me has a time share, and I'm sure is not aware of the potential lingering affect the timeshare may have on his estate.

 

[Just Blue]

I'm always curious about claims or statements made that don't sound right in my ear. Yes, someone close to me has a time share, and I'm sure is not aware of the potential lingering affect the timeshare may have on his estate.

The Time Share company will have a process to get out of the contract or to change ownership if your friend knows someone who wants to take over their week. Tell the friend to call the time share company and ask what their options are.

 

[Taxing Matters]

New Jersey
Can you reject any bequeathment which carries the acceptance of a continued monetary obligation?

No. But for tax reasons the way you'd want to do is by a qualified disclaimer, which must be done no later than nine months after the decedent's death.

Case in point, if you were to inherit the ownership of a timeshare agreement or contract, are you required to accept?

Same answer as above.

I recently listened to a radio advertisement offering a service to help cancel a timeshare contract. In that advertisement, it was stated, "even after your death, the contract will become an obligation to your family". Unless a family member(s) are listed as co-owners of the timeshare, how can the continuance of this obligation be forced upon anyone to accept?
Thank you in advance for your replies.

If a relative were to inherit the time share and did not disclaim the gift, sell it, or otherwise get rid of it, then yes, that relative who now owns the time share would be obligated to pay the fees that go along with his/her timeshare.[/QUOTE]

 

[LdiJ]

Here is what sometimes happens. The timeshare contracts are written in such a way that the purchaser is obligated in perpetuity. Therefore, when that person dies, unless their estate has no assets of any kind, other than the timeshare, if the heir(s) want to keep those assets they are also stuck with the timeshare and it's annual costs. Since there is little to no resale market for timeshares, it is difficult to impossible to make it go away.

Timeshare companies have gotten a little smarter about the issue due to all of the bad press over it, and they have tended to make an "out" possible for heirs who don't want to deal with the timeshare. However that generally results in the heirs having to give back the timeshare with either no buy back, or in some instances, having to pay a surrender fee of some sort.

It is true that you can generally disclaim a single asset of an estate. The problem is that a timeshare is not just an asset (and some wouldn't call it an asset at all) it is also an obligation/debt of the estate.

 

[Taxing Matters]

It is true that you can generally disclaim a single asset of an estate. The problem is that a timeshare is not just an asset (and some wouldn't call it an asset at all) it is also an obligation/debt of the estate.

The estate would obligated to pay fees the esate incurs prior to transferring the asset to a beneficiary. In general, the beneficiary should not be liable for that personally, though there may be a lien on the time share. If the beneficiary doesn't want the property he or she won't pay those fees. They'll find some other way to dump the time and any fees owed on it.

 

[LdiJ]

The estate would obligated to pay fees the esate incurs prior to transferring the asset to a beneficiary. In general, the beneficiary should not be liable for that personally, though there may be a lien on the time share. If the beneficiary doesn't want the property he or she won't pay those fees. They'll find some other way to dump the time and any fees owed on it.

You have no idea how aggressive the timeshare companies can be about collections, or how much damage they will inflict on someone's credit report. I have seen them in action. Everyone I have known who was eventually able to dump a timeshare, paid dearly to do so. I honestly still don't know how the timeshare companies get away with it.

 

[Just Blue]

You have no idea how aggressive the timeshare companies can be about collections, or how much damage they will inflict on someone's credit report. I have seen them in action. Everyone I have known who was eventually able to dump a timeshare, paid dearly to do so. I honestly still don't know how the timeshare companies get away with it.

Because people don't read their contracts before signing.

 

[Bali Hai Again]

You have no idea how aggressive the timeshare companies can be about collections, or how much damage they will inflict on someone's credit report. I have seen them in action. Everyone I have known who was eventually able to dump a timeshare, paid dearly to do so. I honestly still don't know how the timeshare companies get away with it.

Yep, one would be money ahead to barge in sparkling white sand from Aruba, truck it to their northern property, plant a few fake palm trees by the pond and enjoy the time there in summer without sharing it.

 

[Taxing Matters]

You have no idea how aggressive the timeshare companies can be about collections, or how much damage they will inflict on someone's credit report. I have seen them in action. Everyone I have known who was eventually able to dump a timeshare, paid dearly to do so.

I do have a pretty good idea of how aggressive some creditors can be, time share firms included. I've dealt with a number of difficult crediors for clients. But the options for dealing with that are no different than dealing with a "nice" creditor. The difference is the nice creditor may be willing to agree to an acceptable compromise to settle the bill. The agressive ones hold out longer to try to jack up the money they can get.

If the time share company reports someone delinquent who is not obligated on the time share contract, there are legal remedies for that, including under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

I honestly still don't know how the timeshare companies get away with it.

That's because few, if any, states have much in the way of regulation of time "investments". They do what a lot of other bottom scraping promoters do — they talk up how fantastic the time share is and then rush to get the person to sign before they leave without an adequate time to read the contract. They know that if the prospective buyer walks out, proposed contract in hand, with the time to think about few of those prospects will return to buy a time share.

 

[TrustUser]

sounds like the kind of people to avoid !!!