DVC with owner who has died

[dlbwright]

Morning. I have a question. Nervous to call member services right now because I am not sure what is going to happen. My aunt was an owner of DVC. I was listed as an associate. My aunt, mother, my kids and myself went every year for the last 7 years. We always joked about DVC being mine in the will. Well she past away on 9/22. Found out yesterday that she never put it in the will that it should go to me and I am not on the deed. I have two trips coming in November and January and obviously don't want to get her account suspended or anything like that and not be able to go on my trips. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? TIA!

 

[MikeMcCall05]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, however this is a deeded real estate property. Therefore the executor could deed it to you. I would highly advise discussing this with an attorney before making any contact to Disney, due to the amount of money that is involved with this property. I would act quickly due to the fact that the annual due fees are paid up. If the annual dues go unpaid Disney can file for a foreclosure on the deed.

Depending on how the will was set up (since you stated their was a will). You may not have any rights at all to the deeded property, and may be forced to buy it from the trustees. However only a lawyer can properly advise you on this situation.

 

[VLee]

Not sure, but it might have to go through probate in Florida.

 

[OKW Lover]

Not sure, but it might have to go through probate in Florida.

The OP is in CT. Assuming her Aunt was also a CT residence it will go through probate in CT.

A lawyer is very much needed in this case. With the Aunt not providing for in the will that the DVC membership should go to the OP, the executor has no option but to follow the letter of the will. That probably means that the other heirs would need to agree to the membership going to the OP, possibly in exchange for some compensation. Again, only a lawyer (and I'm not one) can really help in this situation.

 

[ericstac]

This is a real bummer if she truly meant it to go to you and it is why a will is so important.. hopefully her family knew you were to get it and they don't get greedy.

good luck and sorry for your loss

 

[DebbieB]

I wouldn't call DVC, there's nothing they can do at this point. I agree to talk to the estate attorney. The account would not be suspended by DVC unless dues are not paid.

 

[disneynutz]

Morning. I have a question. Nervous to call member services right now because I am not sure what is going to happen. My aunt was an owner of DVC. I was listed as an associate. My aunt, mother, my kids and myself went every year for the last 7 years. We always joked about DVC being mine in the will. Well she past away on 9/22. Found out yesterday that she never put it in the will that it should go to me and I am not on the deed. I have two trips coming in November and January and obviously don't want to get her account suspended or anything like that and not be able to go on my trips. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? TIA!

Tough situation, sorry to read about her death. The issue as I see it is that you have no right to vacation since you are not the owner. The owner as decided later could go after you to recover.

Bill

 

[CarolMN]

The OP is in CT. Assuming her Aunt was also a CT residence it will go through probate in CT. .......(snip).....

True, but if the DVC "property" is located in Florida, the Will also must go through probate in Florida. If she owned HHI, VGC or Aulani, it would go through the appropriate state's probate system as well as the one in CT (or her state of residence). I also assumed that the contract was in her name only.

That is why many people who have property in more than one state opt to use trusts instead of Wills to pass property to their heirs.

 

[dlbwright]

Both my aunt and I are residents of CT. She did not have points anywhere else except for WDW. Considering all of the trustees of the estate are not 'into Disney' (for shame I know!) I am not concerned at this point in them coming back at me. They are all my younger cousins, 26 and younger, and not really into vengeance, which is good. Most of the time, even though my aunt was the owner, I am the one who took the trips. And she was ok with that. I was spoiled by aunt, she was very good to me. . I just wanted to be sure there were no problems with my upcoming trips (which she already knew I was taking) and as it seems all dues are up to date and paid, so I am fine for now until we go back to the lawyer. Thank you for everybody's help!

 

[crisi]

The current trips are probably fine - it will take some time to get things to where your cousins can do anything about DVC.

But at some time your cousins are going to have to decide what to do with the asset. They could sell it - they could continue to pay dues on it and use it - they could sell it - or gift it - to you.

And how to approach this depends on the dynamics of the family. Your cousins may say "mom always intended for her to have it" and just gift it, rather than taking the bother of selling it. Or they could say "hey, this is worth thousands of dollars, how fast can we turn that into cash." You might want to let them know you are interested in buying it if they do decide to sell it.

 

[DisneyWhovian]

And how to approach this depends on the dynamics of the family. Your cousins may say "mom always intended for her to have it" and just gift it, rather than taking the bother of selling it. Or they could say "hey, this is worth thousands of dollars, how fast can we turn that into cash." You might want to let them know you are interested in buying it if they do decide to sell it.

Yes. I can't imagine the direct heirs giving away a timeshare worth $10k+ or continuing to pay the dues. If OP contributing to buying it, it might be a different story, but my guess is that a sale is in the works.

 

[disneynutz]

Money is the worst thing when it comes to families. As I posted the OP intends to vacation with no proof that the vacation was a gift made prior to the death.

The new owner may not care or after having things put in their head they may take exception to the point use.

I hope that things work out.

Bill

 

[lawgator]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Your aunt sounded like a very generous person. Her estate will go through probate in CT and there will have to be an ancillary probate in Florida, unless there happens to be a co-owner on the deed (and you didn't say there was). Whoever is the beneficiary under her will will be entitled to the property and can keep or dispose of it however they wish. I suggest you speak directly to them and also to the executor. It will probably take awhile for it to go through probate and any changes to be made. Maybe the family would be willing to either let you keep your reservations since that was obviously your aunt's wish, and then maybe you could buy the points from them. It would still have to go through Disney's right of first refusal, though. Best case scenario is that they gift it to you. If none of this works out for you maybe you could look at purchasing some resale points for future reservations. Good luck!

 

[carmelhp]

Does DVC have any transfer-on-death provisions in its deeds? If it does, and your aunt took advantage of it, the property would transfer outside of probate.

 

[Dean]

As I understand it one can change the names upon death with DVC without ROFR but only to those on the deed already. I also understand that to change the deed, FL requires probate if one owns property there even if they live in another state.

This is a timeshare and the heir's may not want it, They may be happy just to get it out of the estate and transfer it to you which they could do easily if it were gratis. If it's a purchase, normal ROFR rules apply.

 

[lilkitty819]

Did your aunt have any children, if she did then her estate would go to them! If not then it would go to her next of kin.

 

[maburke]

Did your aunt have any children, if she did then her estate would go to them! If not then it would go to her next of kin.

I think the OP said that the aunt did have children, but also did have a will, so it seems like it's not that cut-and-dried.

I think there is proof that the vacation was a gift prior to the death -- the aunt was alive when the reservation was made. However, if your relationship with the cousins is good enough, it would probably be best to have a discussion with them about these trips, at least, if not the whole ownership at this time. Depending on the UY, the points you're using may be of very little value if your trips were cancelled, so you might as well use them.

Sorry for your loss. Keep us posted.