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This article comes about because of a real problem posed to us recently. In brief we were contacted by a lady who owns a timeshare in Kissimmee Florida. She originally purchased with her husband but they divorced many years ago, he remarried but she didn’t. The ex husband died recently and willed his half share to their daughter. No action was taken to officially remove the husband and replace with the daughter; this is because the daughter didn’t want the timeshare.

Both mother and daughter decided to simply exit, this is where the problems started. The resort agreed subject to sight of the UK grant of probate and a Florida grant of probate filed in Orange County. Because the late ex husbands will was simple there was no need for a UK grant of probate so to have one prepared could incur another expense of about £1,500, depending on complexity, then $1,500 for Florida probate.

We put the lady in contact with a recommended Florida attorney who fortunately stated he could handle the probate without the need for its UK equivalent. The resort had already agreed the exit subject to legal paperwork so problem solved but a problem that perhaps could have been avoided if the timeshare was dealt with at the time of divorce.

Problems and possible solutions

Divorce can be a very messy and painful experience. Agreeing financial and property split is complex enough let alone adding timeshare into the mix which (in reality) is a worthless asset.

The once perceived benefit of the timeshare holiday is blighted as the couple will be holidaying separately after the divorce, if of course they decide to keep their ownership.

Parting couples can either share the holidays on a bi-lateral agreement, or if the resort permits it, one of the contracting parties can petition the resort to be excused from the contractual liability of the timeshare due to the divorce.

Options

Splitting the timeshare property (in a divorce) includes figuring out what to do with that timeshare, this raises questions like: –

  • Can it be sold?
  • Who will keep it?
  • Who will pay the annual fees?
  • Who will use it?

Because timeshares have been around since the 1970’s, there are literally thousands of units in the stagnant “for sale” market. Because of this it can be very difficult to sell a timeshare since you are competing with new ones offered by developers every year, year on year.

Give it back

If neither party wants to keep the timeshare after the divorce, the couple can contact the developer or resort and find out if they can give it back. If they agree, it will likely be that this course will be a no financial return transaction, meaning the developer won’t pay anything for it. If the answer is no this could become a problem for the liquidation of this marital assets.

Selling

As we stated earlier, you could try to sell your timeshare through a broker or listing service however these have a poor track record as only a very few actually sell. If you wish to consider this option you need to be aware that many brokers and listing agents often charge front end fees with no guarantee of a sale. EBay is riddled with very low priced timeshare with no bids.

Walk away

Walking away from the timeshare problem is usually not a viable option as the both parties signed an initial contract in which they agreed to pay the fees and/or loan costs. Failure to pay those fees could jeopardise credit ratings and at worse involve legal action.

Keep it

Because all of the above options are tenuous, parties to a divorce sometimes agree to keep the timeshare and use it in alternate years and share paying the annual costs. If there is an outstanding loan, the loan payments would also be shared. While this is not a perfect solution, at least both parties (and their children) will be able to use the timeshare until it can be disposed of. That said, given the example above this may store up future problems.

Exit

If all fails, then an exit from the contract is the best route. Unfortunately, many developers and resorts don’t offer an exit strategy, this being the case you may need to engage a reputable exit company to achieve the exit from the contract. Naturally this route will bring costs but upon a successful exit, the timeshare is one more problem the couple can draw a line under.

Our advice

Although there is a myriad of property, chattels and financial affairs to sort whilst a divorce is processed, don’t forget the timeshare. Virtually all ownerships are long term contracts and whilst divorce proceedings are taking place couples may forget all about their timeshares, resorts and developers won’t. They don’t really care about your matrimonial issues, all they care about is the contractual owner(s) continuing to fulfil the terms of the contract signed with the financial ramifications these incur.

For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk