Many San Diegans have timeshare properties out of state in Hawaii, Colorado, and Florida as well as right here in San Diego in the beachfront communities of Coronado, La Jolla, Mission Beach, Carlsbad, and Oceanside. If you plan to leave your timeshare properties to your heirs you need to understand several things.
There are two types of timeshare properties – deeded and non deeded. With the non deeded form of ownership you usually are buying a license to use the property or a lease or membership interest that allows use of the property for a number of years. You may or may not be able to pass this on to your heirs. With a deeded timeshare you actually have an ownership interest in the property and have a deed showing that interest.
If you have a revocable living trust, a timeshare, like any other piece of property, has to be transferred into your trust. If it is a deeded timeshare, this will be done with a trust transfer deed. Many trust administrations or trust distributions are delayed because individuals forget to transfer their timeshare properties into their trust.
With a will as your estate plan, your entire estate will have to go through the probate procedure with its accompanying time and expense. If the timeshare property is out of state, a second probate called an “ancillary probate” will have to be established, resulting in additional probate fees. Ownership of out of state property is a good reason to have a trust rather than a will.
With either a will or a trust, if you think your children will be fighting over the use of the timeshare, consider leaving it to only one beneficiary so that the timeshare does not have to be sold to distribute it.
If you have questions about your vacation properties and whether they are properly transferred into your revocable living trust, we can assist you at Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation You can also call us or e mail about any other estate planning issue.