Doing Probate with DVC deeds in Florida? Lawyers?

[Gwen412]

Hi all - My Dad died a month ago and he willed he points to his 4 kids.

He left us Vero Beach, boardwalk and beach club....

I'm looking for recs on a probate Lawyer in Florida -

Has anyone done this?

Any useful info would be soo Great...

I'm excited - I got reservations for Bay Lake Towers for Sept 7 - Sept 12 - I need the break right now - things have been so crazy.

I have 2 littles one (2 year old and 3 year old) - and I'm also going to have to visit the planning boards!

Thanks - Gwen

 

[CarolAnnC]

Hi and welcome to the DIS!

You do not mention what state you are from. I would first seek the advice of your own attorney, if you have one. Or check with the attorney who drew up your dad's will. They will be able to complete the process, and obtain a Florida attorney or steer you to one, if absolutely necessary.

Good luck to you during this difficult time. I am sure you will have much pleasure from your dad's DVC as he would have wanted...

 

[Dean]

Yes, talk to your probate lawyer there. You likely don't need probate in FL but only to change the deeds. You can get the ROFR yourself and change the deeds with the death certificate and through your local probate lawyer then record the deeds and ROFR papers in FL. You can do it for around $100 for all 3 if you do it yourself plus what your probate lawyer charges for the probate documentation. If you want someone else to do it all for closing, you could easily get to $1500 or more for the 3 contracts.

Sorry to hear about your Dad but glad to have you as a member. Welcome home!!!

 

[Gwen412]

I'm not sure what ROFR is?

We have an attorney/executor in Louisiana - where my Dad lived - and he asked me to try to find a lawyer in Florida for him that does timeshare stuff....

I thought (and I could be wrong, I'm no lawyer) that because my Dad's name in the only one on the deed - that it had to go into probate to get the name changed?

Maybe that is not true with Florida timeshares?

Would LOVE to give my attorney in LA some guidance and avoid probate and hiring a 2nd attorney?

Thanks for all the help!

Gwen

 

[wdrl]

I'm not sure what ROFR is?

In the event of death, a DCV owner has the right to will his contract to his heir(s). In such cases, Disney waives ROFR. ROFR stands for Disney's Right of First Refusal. Whenever a DCV title changes ownership, Disney has the right to step in and buy the DVC title for the same terms that are being offered by the seller. For example, if I am selling my contract to another person for $85 a point, Disney has the first right to buy my contract for that price. Instead of selling the contract to the other person, I end up selling it to Disney for $85/point. If Disney does not wish to exercise its right, then it issues a Waiver of Right of First Refusal and records it with the County. I then sell my contract to the other person.

Even though we can will our DVC contracts to our heirs, I would strongly urge you to obtain a waiver of ROFR from Disney, have it recorded with the county, and keep a copy of it for your records. If you do this, then you will show that you have clear title to the contract if you decide that you want to sell it in the future.

I would call DVC member services and explain your situation. They may tell you what you need to do, and help you get guidance from knowledgeable sources.

BTW, you might also want to ask Member Services if you need to bank any of the points into the next Use Year. MS can explain what all that means.

Good Luck!

 

[Dean]

I'm not sure what ROFR is?

We have an attorney/executor in Louisiana - where my Dad lived - and he asked me to try to find a lawyer in Florida for him that does timeshare stuff....

I thought (and I could be wrong, I'm no lawyer) that because my Dad's name in the only one on the deed - that it had to go into probate to get the name changed?

Maybe that is not true with Florida timeshares?

Would LOVE to give my attorney in LA some guidance and avoid probate and hiring a 2nd attorney?

Thanks for all the help!

Gwen

ROFR is Right of First Refusal. Your lawyer is asking you to find a lawyer to do the deed and recording. As I noted, you really don't need that in this situation. If you go through a lawyer, you'll be paying upward of $1000 to do so. I'd talk to JRA timeshare closing and Timeshare Transfers. See what they'd do it for in this situation, my guess is about $5-600 total but it could be more. As I noted, all you need is a quit claim deed which is easy to get and the proper documentation for the death transfer which your current lawyer can provide I'm sure. Then you just need to get the ROFR from DVC, also easy, then record the deeds and send a copy to DVC to change the deeds.

 

[Best Aunt]

As I noted, all you need is a quit claim deed which is easy to get and the proper documentation for the death transfer which your current lawyer can provide I'm sure.

Normally, a deed is signed by the person who is selling or giving away the property.

If Dad (the DVC owner) is dead, who signs the deed?

 

[Dean]

Normally, a deed is signed by the person who is selling or giving away the property.

If Dad (the DVC owner) is dead, who signs the deed?

That's why they need the probate lawyer, but it doesn't have to be a FL lawyer plus they already have a lawyer for the probate. I'd guess the lawyer or executor will have a power of attorney through the court system for this type of thing.

 

[Best Aunt]

Problem is, the Executor was appointed in Louisiana, where Dad lived. Don't know if Disney thinks a Louisiana Executor has authority to sign a DVC deed, or if the Executor also has to be authorized by the state where DVC is.

 

[Dean]

Problem is, the Executor was appointed in Louisiana, where Dad lived. Don't know if Disney thinks a Louisiana Executor has authority to sign a DVC deed, or if the Executor also has to be authorized by the state where DVC is.

Again, need to check with the lawyer in LA. Disney doesn't care really once they pass on the ROFR. I'd ask this question of Orange County as to what is required, they're easy to get on the phone and very responsive though there's a limit as to what advice they can give. As long as the executor has a power of attorney authorized by the courts, I'd suspect that would be fine. Might be best to have it recorded along with the deed. I think you're trying to make this more complicated than it has to be.

 

[Gwen412]

Thanks for all the help - I will call Orange county and JRA next week to see if they can let me know if my LA attorny call fill out the forms and do the transfer or not -

Yep he has power of attorney as executor/estate attorney

If they tell me a do need a FL lawyer - any recs on who to use?????

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Thanks for all the help - I will call Orange county and JRA next week to see if they can let me know if my LA attorny call fill out the forms and do the transfer or not -

Yep he has power of attorney as executor/estate attorney

If they tell me a do need a FL lawyer - any recs on who to use?????

If your Dad held title on the Deed in his own name and not in the name of a Trust, a secondary probate proceeding in FL will probably be necessary and a FL attorney will be probably be needed to handle that proceeding. DVC is a real property interest and, if not held in Trust, passes under the laws of the state in which the Deed is recorded. Sorry for your loss. Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[CarolMN]

If your Dad held title on the Deed in his own name and not in the name of a Trust, a secondary probate proceeding in FL will probably be necessary and a FL attorney will be probably be needed to handle that proceeding. DVC is a real property interest and, if not held in Trust, passes under the laws of the state in which the Deed is recorded. Sorry for your loss. Best of luck -- Suzanne

This is pretty much what our lawyer in Minnesota told us when we were talking about the advantages of putting DVC into one of our trusts. He said that Florida was very particular about lawyers having a Florida license to do things in Florida. He said a colleague got into some trouble related to that and so he would not handle the transfer process for us. I personally think he over reacted a bit as far as our business was concerned, but he did say that one of the disadvantages of having property in other states was that your heirs had to go through probate in more than one place. If one holds the property in a trust, that would not be necessary.

 

[Gwen412]

Yeah - looks like a need to find a FL lawyer - but no idea how to find a good one?????

Any recs at all???

Gwen

 

[Dean]

Yeah - looks like a need to find a FL lawyer - but no idea how to find a good one?????

Any recs at all???

Gwen

Call one of the brokers specializing in DVC and ask who they'd recommend. They all have a tie in with a lawyer and closing company. I'm sure they'd all be willing to answer the question for you and if needed, do the closing.

 

[robert@dvcstore]

Gwen,

May I suggest that you contact the title company we use at The Timeshare Store. They are Magic Vacation Title. Their web address is http://mvtservice.com/dnn/***/.

They will be happy to answer any questions you have so that all is all is taken care of now and there are not delays or extra costs down the road when you are ready to sell.

Robert

 

[KerriL]

If your Dad held title on the Deed in his own name and not in the name of a Trust, a secondary probate proceeding in FL will probably be necessary and a FL attorney will be probably be needed to handle that proceeding. DVC is a real property interest and, if not held in Trust, passes under the laws of the state in which the Deed is recorded. Sorry for your loss. Best of luck -- Suzanne

This is what's happening to our contract. Original seller passed away and her son is the administrator of her estate. He is selling the contract thru TSS. He lives in Louisiana also. Everything is fine in his homestate but FL is requiring it to go through probate.
Anybody know how long this takes? And only after all this is cleared up does it go to Disney for ROFR....

 

[Disneymommato2boys]

Hi all - My Dad died a month ago and he willed he points to his 4 kids.

He left us Vero Beach, boardwalk and beach club....

I'm looking for recs on a probate Lawyer in Florida -

Has anyone done this?

Any useful info would be soo Great...

I'm excited - I got reservations for Bay Lake Towers for Sept 7 - Sept 12 - I need the break right now - things have been so crazy.

I have 2 littles one (2 year old and 3 year old) - and I'm also going to have to visit the planning boards!

Thanks - Gwen

Gwen,
First off, I am so sorry for your loss!

We went through the same thing about 1.5 year ago when my FIL passed away. The lawyer we used is in FL and we never had to appear in person for probate. She even handled everything with DVC. I will warn you, it took us until just now to get it all handled. It has been a long drawn out process for us, I hope your process goes much better!

Here is her information...

Debbie McAdams
352-241-8133

 

[Gwen412]

Thanks for all the help - we have a lawyer and we have things moving - I know it's gonna take a long time - but so is the way of probate...

Gwen