Inheriting DVC Points

[PlaneJane]

My dad is wanting to give his point to both my sister and I when either he passes or I guess is incapable to use them. First off, is this even possible? Secondly, is this going to work out with sharing the points? His idea is that I use one year's points and then she uses the next and we rotate..I don't think it will work, what if I want to bank my points lol then she will have them. What would my dad even have to do to start the process?

Any good responses are welcome since this is a serious matter

 

[slappy magoo]

My dad is wanting to give his point to both my sister and I when either he passes or I guess is incapable to use them. First off, is this even possible? Secondly, is this going to work out with sharing the points? His idea is that I use one year's points and then she uses the next and we rotate..I don't think it will work, what if I want to bank my points lol then she will have them. What would my dad even have to do to start the process?

Any good responses are welcome since this is a serious matter

Points can be willed, for the duration of the contract. But they can't be split up. If your dad originally bought his points in two contracts, then he can will one contract to you, and one to your sister. But if it's one contract, it'll be up to the two of you to work things out in a way that is OK with both of you. If you get along with each other, maybe it'll work out. Otherwise, one of you should either agree to sell your interest in those points to the other when that time comes, OR tell your father that he should will the contract solely to the other child. Bite that bullet in the interest of familial harmony now, especially since, when that time comes, emotions may run high and a decision on what to do may be harder.

 

[tjkraz]

Agree with slappy...there are serious issues to consider when it comes to joint ownership of an asset like that.

I'm making the assumption that we are talking about a single DVC contract. If there are actually multiple contracts, he could give some to you and some to the sibling. Much cleaner there.

If it's one contract and both of you are listed as owners, things like marriage, divorce, death or bankruptcy of one owner could negatively impact the other. I've heard of both divorce and bankruptcy situations with multiple owners where the courts ordered the entire contract sold.

And then there's the issue of annual dues payments and actually using the points. Dues must be paid regardless of the financial circumstances of each owner. If it's your sister's turn to pay dues and she can't come up with the money, DVC will freeze the contract and come after both of you.

I know these are all situations that we may think we can avoid but one never knows what the future may hold--cheating spouse, loss of job, financial troubles, family rift, etc.

If there is only one contract, I really think it's best to leave it to one child. Then maybe the two of you can come up with some agreement for the non-owner using the points. For instance, if you get the contract, she would reimburse you for all dues associated with the points that she uses.

 

[disneyeater]

The two best solutions I see here are:

1. Just sell the contract when that time comes and split the money.

2. And I like this one better, just have your Dad buy another contract of equal size and you can each have one.

 

[Phonedave]

Everyone has given good factual advice.

Think of it this way. A DVC ownership is much like owning a vacation home.

If your father owned a vacation home and he gave it to both you and your sister, then you would both have to hash out who could use it when, who would pay the property taxes, etc. Quite often the easiest thing to do is have one person buy out the other. If the contract is worth $10,000 fair market value, then you sister gives you $5,000 and she gets the whole DVC contract, or the other way around if you want it.


-dave

 

[Yoop33]

Just make sure your name is on the contract now, or later... but the sooner the better. I have seen so many problems of guests getting on property and not being able to make adjustments to their plans because their name is not on the DVC contract.

 

[tjkraz]

Just make sure your name is on the contract now, or later... but the sooner the better. I have seen so many problems of guests getting on property and not being able to make adjustments to their plans because their name is not on the DVC contract.

Huh? Not sure I follow you here. What sort of "adjustments to plans" would be warranted by the non-owner son?

If dad makes a reservation in son's name--even with son as a non-owner--he shouldn't have any difficulties at the resort.

Son wouldn't have any ability to manage points but that can be accomplished with Associate member status.

As for adding son to the deed now, there are both benefits and drawbacks. Among the benefits are the fact that son would get a member ID card and could take advantage of perks like the AP purchase discount. Also when dad passes, son would become sole owner of the contract without it being caught up in the estate.

Drawbacks would include many of the items referenced in my original post. If son files for bankruptcy or gets divorced, the DVC contract could get caught up in the proceedings since it would be one of son's assets. Worst case, the courts could order the contract sold or force dad to effectively "buy-out" the son who never really contributed anything to acquire the asset.

Modifying the deed will also cost a couple hundred bucks, and only those over the age of 18 can own real estate according to Florida law.

 

[Yoop33]

Huh? Not sure I follow you here. What sort of "adjustments to plans" would be warranted by the non-owner son?

If dad makes a reservation in son's name--even with son as a non-owner--he shouldn't have any difficulties at the resort.

I have seen too many guests check into a resort that their parents/ family member booked for them using points run in to trouble. Checking in is not the problem, but things like adding the dining plan, extending stay, changing resort mid trip, etc all has to be done through member services... If you are not a member, Member Services will not help you.

So its a good idea to be added as an associate or or just added right to the deed

 

[tjkraz]

I have seen too many guests check into a resort that their parents/ family member booked for them using points run in to trouble. Checking in is not the problem, but things like adding the dining plan, extending stay, changing resort mid trip, etc all has to be done through member services... If you are not a member, Member Services will not help you.

So its a good idea to be added as an associate or or just added right to the deed

I'm assuming you are a CM and I am certainly sympathetic toward you getting caught in the middle of these situations. But I don't think that giving a third party control or legal ownership over a $20,000+ asset is necessarily the right decision.

My son is only 10 so I still have plenty of time before I have to make the call. But as the owner of the contract, I don't know that I would want him to have the ability to spend my points on a whim. I can book a stay in his name if I wish but I don't want him upgrading views or adding dates just because the points may be available. And I certainly don't want to put the contract in jeopardy if he cannot manage his money or makes a poor choice for a spouse.

The things you describe can be easily overcome with a little knowledge of the product and very minimal advance planning. If members cannot take responsibility for such planning, they deserve whatever inconveniences are imposed at the front desk.

 

[Yoop33]

The things you describe can be easily overcome with a little knowledge of the product and very minimal advance planning. If members cannot take responsibility for such planning, they deserve whatever inconveniences are imposed at the front desk.

Exactly... But as it seems, many members dont know how the program works and dont know what they own half of the time... and in this case, many problems can occur.

The example I am referring to was recent. A cute young couple was here on their honeymoon via points from their parents as a wedding gift. Everything was supposed to be taken care of from transportation to dining. This couple had come with minimal money because they weren't expecting to spend a dime. Come check in time, they realized the dining plan wasnt a part of their package because their parents/ members forgot to add that detail. The couple was not able to call Member services to add it and their parents/ members were out of the country and unreachable.
I still dont know what they ended up doing and how they ate while on their Honeymoon.

 

[dizzney]

We currently own four contracts - each of different sizes, and have three children, but whenn we bought the first we didnt have three children so we werent worried about it. Now, we'd probably deed according to who wanted what and even value up in another way. The funny thing is that if we could split it in our will, we own 375 points, the split is easy 125 each.

 

[disneynut4u]

Just FYI, on another note: If you use DVC OUTSIDE of Disney, there is usually a charge when you check in. My son had a conference in Washington, DC. My dad let us use his points for the trip. When my sister & I checked in, we were asked for a security deposit of $1000. We were not expecting this, but management worked with us and got it straight. We were lucky. Mandarin Oriental was a beautiful hotel, with a bathroom to die for!! Trying to figure out now how to get that bathroom done in my house!!!