Donating Contract

[jaygalterio]

I'm not sure if this question has been asked, but my wife and I were discussing what we would want to do with our DVC contracts should we move on. Since we don't think any one in our family would really appreciate it, we were thinking about donating it to charity.

Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on it? We just felt that something like the Make a Wish Foundation or the Boys & Girls Club might have use for it. But then I was wondering if it would end up being too much of a book keeping nightmare for them.

Any thoughts?

- J

 

[spiceycat]

call and ask them.

you might consider donating to them before you die - less paper work and then your relatives could not stop it.

there are other charities who do accept timeshare - but since DVC is still selling - don't know.

 

[dianeschlicht]

One issue with donating to a charity like that is who is going to pay the maintenance? Most charities would not want to take on the financial responsibility of that. It might work though if money was also left in a trust to cover maintenance fees.

 

[jaygalterio]

The maintenance was one item I was thinking that they might object to.

The other I considered was the book keeping involved with keeping track of a bunch of different contracts. Imagine having to manage a couple of dozen different contracts with different home resorts and UY. It could be a full time job.

- J

 

[Dean]

I'm not sure if this question has been asked, but my wife and I were discussing what we would want to do with our DVC contracts should we move on. Since we don't think any one in our family would really appreciate it, we were thinking about donating it to charity.

Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on it? We just felt that something like the Make a Wish Foundation or the Boys & Girls Club might have use for it. But then I was wondering if it would end up being too much of a book keeping nightmare for them.

Any thoughts?

- J

There are organizations currently that will accept timeshares as a charitable donation but the admin costs take up most of the money and they often don't change it out of the current owners name until they have it sold. Likely far better to put in the will to sell it and donate the money. With a properly constructed will, this shouldn't create any issues with the remaining family, at least none they could do much about.

 

[jaygalterio]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. It was all food for thought...

Just to clarify things a little bit, I am just planning in case something unexpected occurs. Honestly if such did happen I would just want the contracts to go somewhere they would do the most good. The last thing I want is for no instructions to be defined and the contracts just default.

Same to be said for the family relations that might receive the contracts. I don't want them to not really care and just let the contracts revoke too.

On the surface something like the Make a Wish Foundation would seem like a perfect receipt, but then the logistics of reality rear their ugly heads. I think I need to make a few calls and see how they feel about the subject.

Thanks again!

- J

 

[bobbiwoz]

When I donated some stock to my high school, I was informed that they sell what they receive and the money gets added to what funds they have. That was fine with me.

 

[cheezNE1]

why dont you just sell the contract and donate the $.

 

[Sandy321]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. It was all food for thought...

Just to clarify things a little bit, I am just planning in case something unexpected occurs. Honestly if such did happen I would just want the contracts to go somewhere they would do the most good. The last thing I want is for no instructions to be defined and the contracts just default.

Same to be said for the family relations that might receive the contracts. I don't want them to not really care and just let the contracts revoke too.

On the surface something like the Make a Wish Foundation would seem like a perfect receipt, but then the logistics of reality rear their ugly heads. I think I need to make a few calls and see how they feel about the subject.

Thanks again!

- J

well, glad its a planning issue - always prepared!

Wonder if you could donate to Give Kids the World (IF anything unexpected happened to you) that way they could sell it - and that charity may be more familiar with the resale market to get the money for such a wonderful cause... (IF anything tragic were to occur to you!)

 

[jaygalterio]

well, glad its a planning issue - always prepared!

Wonder if you could donate to Give Kids the World (IF anything unexpected happened to you) that way they could sell it - and that charity may be more familiar with the resale market to get the money for such a wonderful cause... (IF anything tragic were to occur to you!)

Very delicately put. And yes, that is an option too.

What I want to make sure of is that our wishes are simply put. This way there is no opportunity for someone to weasel in through semantics and make a quick profit.

I figured that the more complicated the wishes are, the easier it would be to throw doubt on them.

In other words, its hard to argue with "give contracts to X." It is easier to argue with "sell contracts and give proceeds to X."

- J

 

[LisaS]

If you bequeath something to someone in your will, they can refuse to accept it. Since a timeshare comes with the burden of paying the dues and/or trying to unload it, it might be one of those things that the designated beneficiary would rather not accept. In the later years of your contract, a DVC timeshare might not be worth anything and the dues could be $10-$15/point making your gift more of a liability.

To make sure your wishes are carried out, you should state what should happen if the charity you selected refuses to accept it. That might include selling the timeshare and donating the proceeds (if any) to the charity or specifying a secondary beneficiary, perhaps along with a sum of money to cover the ownership expenses.

 

[LisaS]

In other words, its hard to argue with "give contracts to X." It is easier to argue with "sell contracts and give proceeds to X."

I'm not a lawyer but I don't see where the second statement is any less clear than the first statement.

 

[ilikedvc]

To make it easy for the charity you decide to give it to i would instruct them to sell it and use the cash. It would be great if a charity like Make a Wish could take it and use it but they would need someone to manage it.