Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Estate Liablilty for Timeshare Property

My father passed away last year and he owned a Timeshare Property in Ventura, CA. He had a living trust and a pour over will. The TS was in his name only and it was never transferred into the trust. We have liquidated his estate and this is the last asset remaining. None of the heirs wants to inherit this property. We do not want to go thru probate to transfer the title into the trust. Is there any estate or trust liability for this property? Are the trustees or the heirs personally liable for the property? If we disperse the trust funds to the heirs is there any possibility of having to pay back money to the estate for any claims from the TS HOA? Can we just walk away from the TS property and let the HOA foreclose on it? The trustee paid the 2012 annual dues, but does not plan to pay the 2013 (or future years) dues. We have been advised to stamp "deceased" on the next bill and have it returned to sender. We contacted to HOA to let them my father passed away and they wanted to know who they should transfer ownership to. None of the heirs wants to have ownership transferred to them. Does each heir need to disclaim any inheritance/ownership of this property? Also, can any bad credit flow to any trustee or heir for nonpayment of the HOA dues? The property does not have loan against it. These units are listed for resale starting at $399.


Asked on 2/22/12, 3:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

An heir can not be forced to accept an inheritance, but the estate retains the liability of paying for the TS and if all the funds from the estate have been distributed then the heirs are responsible for the annual payment in the same ratio as they inherited from the Will. The TS is not part of the trust unless the Will clearly states it was t be transfer to the Trust. The HOA can foreclose on it but they go against all the heirs for their portion of the annual fees. It sounds like you need to go to a re-sale company [do not pay any money up front][I used Angel timeshares and they were good]

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Answered on 2/23/12, 7:44 pm


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