MW 'Selling will be a very difficult process': My mom, 93, owns a timeshare in Florida. How can I disclaim this inheritance?
By Quentin Fottrell
'I want to address this issue proactively before it becomes urgent'
"If all heirs disclaim, does the trust remain responsible for the property until it is sold, or would it revert to the timeshare company?" (Photo subject is a model.)
Dear Quentin,
My mom, 93, owns nine weeks in a timeshare in Florida. She no longer wants to visit Florida and would like to sell the timeshare. Selling will be a very difficult process, and it may not sell before she passes away. The timeshare is currently held in her irrevocable trust.
I will become the executor of the trust, and I want to address this issue proactively before it becomes urgent. Upon her death, I am concerned about whether family members - none of whom want the timeshare - will be responsible for it, or if they can formally disclaim the property.
Can we legally reject the inheritance through a filing with the probate court? Is there a specific timeframe in which a disclaimer must be filed for a timeshare? If all heirs disclaim, does the trust remain responsible for the property until it is sold, or would it revert to the timeshare company?
A Concerned Son
You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com. The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.
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This Florida timeshare sounds like out-of-date cheese with a bad odor. Given the lack of appetite for it, it's better to dispose of it now.
Dear Son,
Florida appears to be getting a bad rap lately, at least in this column.
This Florida timeshare sounds like out-of-date cheese with a bad odor. Given the lack of appetite for it, it's better to dispose of it now rather than leave it lying around the kitchen for months or even years, assuming your mother continues to live a long and, hopefully, healthy life. Be proactive with this slice of Florida cheese in order to avoid problems later on. The good news is there's a lot you can do.
For that reason, leaving it in your family trust is not a good idea. The trustee would be tasked with paying the maintenance/HOA fees and property taxes, and other costs associated with its upkeep. The trustee would also be the one tasked with trying to sell it. The global timeshare industry is worth around $35 billion, and the annual maintenance fees have effectively doubled since 2020 to more than $1,500.
Check the conditions of your mother's timeshare to see if the contract terminates upon her death. Even better, cut out the trust and family members entirely, and simply designate the timeshare company - or resort association or developer - as the beneficiary of your mother's timeshare at your death. This can also be arranged now through a "deed-back program," if the company in question allows one.
Put bluntly, beneficiaries, as you say, can disclaim an inheritance, but leaving it in the trust delays the problem. The trust would still have to pay the bills, and the timeshare company could - in theory - sue the trust for unpaid dues. The contract with the timeshare company does not die with the individual, especially if the asset is left in a trust. Allowing the timeshare to fall into foreclosure could be a long, expensive process.
Even disclaiming comes with complications. When disclaiming a timeshare in an inheritance, the refusal must be in writing and submitted within a specific time period, usually nine months after the decedent's death, according to Dawn A. Allenby, an attorney based in San Diego. "The person disclaiming must not have accepted any benefit from the asset before disclaiming (e.g., using the timeshare)."
The market for timeshares
"Once disclaimed, the timeshare passes according to the next instruction in the estate plan or intestacy law," Allenby adds. "A disclaimer doesn't stop the timeshare from going somewhere - it simply passes to the next named beneficiary, or eventually to the estate itself. If no one claims it, the executor may be forced to manage or liquidate the asset, and the estate may remain liable for fees in the meantime."
Timeshares are often criticized as poor investments, but they can be cost-effective for families who use them regularly and genuinely want to go back to the same place year after year, and/or trade their "timeshare" points for other timeshares around the world (similar to sites like HomeExchange, where you exchange your own home for "guest points" or do reciprocal swaps).
Others are not so keen. "The market for timeshares is very limited. There are a handful of websites where you can list your timeshare for sale or attempt to rent out your weeks," says Fritz Law, which is based in St. Louis. "It is rare for people to sell their timeshares for even a small fraction of their original purchase price. Moreover, it can be very difficult to simply walk away from your timeshare while you are alive.
"Many timeshare companies are experts at pressuring timeshare owners to pay their annual maintenance fees through threats of litigation and using collection companies," the law firm adds. "As a result, if you feel that your timeshare no longer provides the value that it once did, and if your children or other family members are unlikely to want to inherit it once you are gone, consider leaving it out of your living trust entirely."
This review of data on the timeshare industry found that while most owners are satisfied with their overall membership, roughly 1 in 5 owners regret purchasing a timeshare, citing aggressive sales tactics, difficulties making reservations and challenges cancelling or reselling memberships. The researchers agreed with the critics who say timeshares are often a "sticky" product - easy to buy, but hard to use or sell.
So, yes, the trust would be responsible. Dispose of this cheese now.
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More columns from Quentin Fottrell:
'I don't own a home': I'm 62, unemployed and have $1.5 million for retirement. Can I afford to divorce my husband?
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-Quentin Fottrell
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March 20, 2026 09:48 ET (13:48 GMT)
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