When a parent dies, families brace for the big stuff: the house, the IRA, the funeral bill. Then somebody opens a desk drawer and finds the timeshare paperwork.
That’s when the real headache starts. A timeshare doesn’t stop sending bills just because its owner is gone, and somebody in the family is going to get asked who’s paying.
Here’s the good news: In most cases, you don’t have to take it. The law lets an heir formally refuse an inheritance — but to be safe, you need to do it in writing, on time and without acting like an owner first.
I’ve been a CPA since 1981, and this is one of those rules that looks simple on paper and is easy to blow in real life. Here’s how to get it right.
1. Know what you’re being handed
A timeshare isn’t a vacation. It’s a bill with an ocean view.
According to the American Resort Development Association, the industry’s own trade group, the average maintenance fee for a one-week timeshare was $1,550 in 2025. That’s 4.7% more than the year before.
And it’s not a one-time hit. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that these fees tend to rise at least as fast as inflation.
Run the numbers. If fees kept climbing at 2025’s pace, that $1,550 bill would be about $2,340 a year within a decade. Over those 10 years, you’d hand the resort roughly $19,200 — before buying a single plane ticket or a single margarita.
That’s the inheritance. Now let’s talk about how to turn it down.
2. Don’t touch it — not even once
This is where well-meaning heirs trip. You can’t refuse property you’ve already accepted, and accepting it doesn’t require signing anything.
Under IRS regulations, acts that count as accepting include using the property, collecting rent from it, or directing other people to do something with it.
In plain English: Don’t book Mom’s week at the resort “one last time.” Don’t rent it out to cover the fees. Don’t call the resort and tell them to put it in your name.
Be careful about paying the maintenance bill out of your own pocket while you decide, too. Whether that looks like ownership is exactly the kind of question to put to the estate’s attorney before you write a check.
One bit of relief: Simply receiving the deed or title papers doesn’t count as accepting, according to the same regulations.
3. Watch the 9-month clock
The legal term for refusing an inheritance is a “disclaimer.” For it to count under federal tax law, it has to be delivered within 9 months of the transfer that gave you the property. For an inheritance, that clock generally starts when your parent dies.
If a grandchild is in line, there’s a twist: For heirs under 21, the 9 months don’t start until their 21st birthday.
Nine months sounds like plenty. It isn’t. Grief, probate paperwork and family debates eat up time fast, and the deadline doesn’t care.
One more thing: The 9-month deadline comes from federal tax law. Whether your refusal actually works is decided by state law, and state rules on deadlines and paperwork vary. Have the estate’s attorney confirm what applies in the state where your parent lived.
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4. Put it in writing, to the right person
A phone call to the resort doesn’t count. Neither does an email to your sister.
Under the federal rules, your refusal has to be in writing, and it has to be irrevocable and unqualified — meaning no take-backs and no strings attached.
It also has to land with the right person: the representative handling your parent’s estate, usually the executor, or whoever holds legal title to the timeshare.
Keep a copy and get proof that it was delivered. If the resort comes calling a year from now, that piece of paper is your answer.
5. Remember that it goes to the next person in line
Here’s the catch nobody mentions at the funeral. When you refuse an inheritance, you don’t get to decide where it goes. The rules require it to pass without any direction from you.
So the timeshare simply moves to whoever’s next in line. That might be a sibling. It might be your own kids.
If you’re saying no, tell the rest of the family. The next heir may need to file a refusal of their own.
6. Know that Mom’s unpaid bills belong to the estate
As long as you haven’t accepted the timeshare, the fees your parent owed aren’t your personal problem.
The FTC says family members generally don’t have to pay a dead relative’s debts out of their own money. Those debts are the estate’s to pay. And if the estate runs out of money, the FTC says the debt usually goes unpaid.
There are exceptions. You could be on the hook if you co-signed, if you’re a surviving spouse in a community property state such as California or in a state that requires spouses to pay certain debts, or if you’re the executor and didn’t follow your state’s probate rules.
We walk through those exceptions in more detail as we answer who really pays when Mom dies owing $38,000 on credit cards.
The industry knows how this ends, by the way. Jason Gamel, president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association, told Tampa public radio station WUSF that unwanted timeshares can often go back to the developer — or, when the payments stop, eventually wind up in foreclosure.
7. Already said yes? Get out without getting robbed
Maybe you used the week last summer, or you’ve been paying the fees for a year. It’s too late to refuse it, but you’re not trapped.
Start with the source. The FTC’s advice is to call the company that sold the timeshare, or the outfit that runs the resort, and find out what your options are before you pay anybody else.
Some big developers have offered their own exit programs. Wyndham, for example, launched a free one in 2021 for owners in its vacation clubs, with no upfront fees. Ask whether your resort offers something similar.
Then guard your wallet, because the scammers know grieving families are easy marks. The FTC flags these as signs of a timeshare exit scam:
- Someone contacts you out of the blue offering to get you out.
- They “guarantee” they can cancel your contract.
- They want big fees before doing any work.
- They tell you to quit making your mortgage or maintenance payments.
The FTC also warns about phantom buyers. A so-called reseller claims to have someone ready to buy but says you’ll need to wire a few thousand dollars first to cover taxes and closing. There’s no buyer, and your money’s gone.
If you use a reseller, pick one that collects its fee after the sale, not before. And the FTC is blunt about anyone who guarantees a sale: That’s a scammer.
Selling one isn’t easy, as we explain in “‘I Can’t Even Give It Away’: Why Retirees Are Desperate to Dump Their Timeshares.”
If you own a timeshare, spare your kids this
If you’re the one holding the timeshare, don’t make it part of your legacy. Ask your kids now whether anybody actually wants it. If not, start working on an exit while you’re still around to handle it.
At the very least, make the timeshare part of your estate plan, and make sure your executor knows where the paperwork is. If you don’t have a plan yet, you can find help getting one in our Solutions Center.
Your parents bought that timeshare for the memories. You don’t have to buy the bills.
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