danimaroo said:
What is the whole ROFR thing? Would that come into play here if our in-laws wanted to just give us their
DVC membership entirely without us paying them anything? They've already paid off the entire mortgage, so it's just fees that are having to be paid at this point, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.
If your in-laws truly no longer want their DVC membership and are willing to gift it to you, it's just a matter paying the fee to re-deed the ownership. That's what the OP is talking about, and it sounds as if it may also be the case for you.
If, on the other hand, you want to purchase their membership from them, you have to submit the purchase proposal to Disney. Disney then has the Right Of First Refusal (ROFR) to purchase the contract back from your in-laws at the price at which they indicated they were willing to sell it to you.
Disney has not been exercising their ROFR in the past few years to the extent they once did (a quick review of the prices on the Timeshare Store's web site will show how low some have dropped), but if the price is too good to be true, there's a chance Disney could snatch it up.
You legally need to follow the ROFR process if any money is changing hands for the purchase of the contract.
Being added as an associate to an account has no standing whatsoever with regard to DVC membership or ownership. It is strictly an administrative designation to allow someone to talk to Member Services on your behalf to make and change reservations. An associate does not get a membership card, and is not entitled to member perks or benefits.
To the original poster, I'd say there are two main things you should consider when making this decision to jointly own the contract or to out-and-out transfer it to your daughter.
Do you still plan to use the membership yourself, and travel to WDW using the points? If so, do you typically use the DVC discounts toward an annual pass? Only members and their immediate family living at the same address are entitled to the annual pass discount.
Second, how well established are your children's finances? If they run into financial trouble, the DVC contract could be put in jeopardy (as an asset that could be seized or tied up in a bankruptcy). If both your names are on the contract and they fall behind in their dues, it could affect your credit as well as theirs.