Death of an Owner

[ticofan]

My wonderful friend, companion, and husband of 19 years passed away last week. We have fabulous family memories of our 14 years of DVC ownership and over 50 WDW vacations. We are a Disney family through and through!!

I am trying to go through all the legal and financial paperwork that needs to be done at a time like this. I was hoping someone on the board could give me some advice on how to handle my DVC.

Do I need to report the event to Member Services? I don't plan to sell or change anything. I believe we are owners with joint tenancy?

Is there any hurry to change the deed? Can I just sit on it for a year or two?? or ten? I am the one who makes all the plans and reservations. So his involvement is just in the joy and fun of the vacation.

I thought maybe someone may have experience with this and could give advice.

Our next trip is planned for May and it is going to be hard to be there without the love of my life.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I have no advice, but I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[LauraLea]

I am so sorry for your loss, and wish you the very best this May when you return to WDW. We have been on a WDW trip where a member of our party passed away after we booked the trip. It really made for a bittersweet trip.

I am certainly not a lawyer, but I have some experience with this. There should be no need to do anything until you are ready to sell the contract or pass the deed to family. You can continue to use your DVC with no need to contact MS. I would recommend adding an Associate member if you are now the only living owner. If for some reason you were unable to call and change/cancel a reservation, you would have a backup person who could do this for you.

However, I had friends experience problems when OKW did the extension. They had been using the contract just fine for several years after the passing of one of the owners. Before they could decline the extension on the contract they would have had to have it re-deeded. Since this was a rare situation, I would not worry about it now. I am sure you have more pressing details to work through now.

Again, my sincere condolences for you loss.........Laura

 

[Sandisw]

Just want to say my prayers and thoughts are with you and your family at this time.

I also think that you can just wait on this, at least for a little bit, as you have no plans to sell your membership at this time.

 

[nunzia]

I also don't have any information to help you, but just wanted to share that I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[ssawka]

I am so sorry for your loss. When you return in May, try not to dwell on the great sadness you feel that DH is no longer with you but rather remember all the happy memories you two shared together at WDW.

 

[tgropp]

As a previous poster has stated, You should be all right because of joint ownership. Take care of yourself and God Bless.

 

[a742246]

I am so sorry for your loss, and wish you the very best this May when you return to WDW. We have been on a WDW trip where a member of our party passed away after we booked the trip. It really made for a bittersweet trip.

I am certainly not a lawyer, but I have some experience with this. There should be no need to do anything until you are ready to sell the contract or pass the deed to family. You can continue to use your DVC with no need to contact MS. I would recommend adding an Associate member if you are now the only living owner. If for some reason you were unable to call and change/cancel a reservation, you would have a backup person who could do this for you.

I agree with Lauralea that is exactly what I would do.
Take care and I am sorry for your loss.

 

[sssteele]

I think that previous posters have given you good advice. Please accept my condolences for your loss.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[TamaraQT]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I'm so very sorry for your loss.

But about contacting MS, I'm going to disagree with the PP's. While it's not a pressing matter, I do recommend that you let them know of your DH's passing and have your contract re-deeded (is that the correct term?) within a few months so that it's taken care of and not forgotten. My grandfather died in 1987. My grandmother took care of some things but left some things go as they weren't pressing. When DGM passed in 2004, my mom, aunt, & uncle had to get a few copies of my grandfather's death cert in order to settle things. It definitely threw a glitch into the system!

 

[skelfbsfb]

So sorry to hear of your loss, our thoughts are with you and your family at this sad time.

 

[drusba]

No, you do not need to have a new deed done at this time. Deed-wise nothing needs to be changed until you go to sell or transfer the property to someone else. You also do not need to report event to member services. Of course, nothing prevents you from taking those steps at this time. Also, if you have an estate lawyer, you should inform the lawyer of the property and ask what he suggests particularly for what will now be your own estate planning.

The exception to the above is if you still have an outstanding loan (e.g., with Disney's financial arm) on the property. In that case you need to contact Disney to deal with the loan issues created by the death. However, it sounds like you do not have that situation.

Your deed should be one that was issued to you and your husband and by law in Florida that creates a tenancy in the entirety (a joint tenancy applicable to husband and wife) and upon death of your husband, you automatically became the sole owner. That also means that it will not be an asset subject to probate. However, it can still be an asset subject to estate tax, unlikely on the federal level both because the interest went to you creating a probable exemption and you really need a lot of assets (millions) before there is any tax; also unlikely under most state estate tax systems but there you really need to check with a lawyer or accountant in your particular state.

 

[mouseaider]

Prayers and hugs !

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Your deed should be one that was issued to you and your husband and by law in Florida that creates a tenancy in the entirety (a joint tenancy applicable to husband and wife) and upon death of your husband, you automatically became the sole owner. That also means that it will not be an asset subject to probate. However, it can still be an asset subject to estate tax, unlikely on the federal level both because the interest went to you creating a probable exemption and you really need a lot of assets (millions) before there is any tax; also unlikely under most state estate tax systems but there you really need to check with a lawyer or accountant in your particular state.

Absolutely correct!

Please accept my condolences.

 

[Kymm1111]

I am so sorry for your loss!

 

[Straughn]

I lost my husband 3 1/2 years ago and I had the same questions. I notified Member Services of the death and they removed him from their records, leaving the account in my name only. However, they advised having the deed redone. They don't suggest a particular RE attorney, but direct you to the Florida Bar Association.

I discussed this with the attorney handling the settlement of the estate in my home state of Virginia. He said it really wasn't necessary to change the DVC deed any more than it was necessary to change the deed on our house. It can be easily handled by supplying a death certificate when/if you sell or transfer the property to another party.

My deepest sympathies on your loss.

 

[ticofan]

I am overwhelmed by the support and sympathy received.

I posted this thread last thing before I went to bed last night. I always tear up when I think about him not being here now.

It was so nice to wake up this morning to all these hugs and well-wishes.

Thank you for all your advice. I will probably just wait a long while to do anything - as most of you suggested. I will make sure I do not pass the problem along to my kids.

I am looking forward to May. Even though Steve will not be there, I will be reliving many years of happy memories. I don't cry when I remember the wonderful times I have had with my husband. I enjoy watching our videos and pictures. Disney World is tied closely to our family fun -- and will be for many more years.

Thank you again for all the warm wishes.

 

[ttepsich]

My thoughts and prayers are with you during this sad and difficult time.