New Jersey like New York is sports crazy especially when it comes to the Yankees, Mets, Jets, Giants, Rangers, Devils, Phillies and Eagles. (I don’t get the craziness but this blog is not about me.) What does matter to me is how season tickets are treated as part of your estate planning.
Sports fans with season tickets may want their families to enjoy the tickets after they are gone but passing on these tickets may not be that simple.
Season tickets for some teams cost a lot of money and may require a wait-list to the general public. You however, want family and/or friends to be able to take advantage of your tickets after you pass away. However, most teams place limits on how you can transfer the tickets both before and after death. This blog does not discuss how the above referenced sport teams address inherited tickets. You need to contact your team if interested. What you do need to understand is that a season ticket is a contract between the original purchaser and the team. The team can put any restrictions it wants in the sales contract. This includes setting limits on when and how the tickets can be transferred to someone else. Teams may explicitly state that the tickets cannot be transferred by will or trust, allow transfers only to a spouse or close family members, or require that ticket holders follow certain procedures in order to transfer the tickets. Again, you must check with your team if interested.
Note that some teams; like the NY Giants, require fans to purchase a seat license before buying season tickets. This means the fan pays a large fee to buy a license for particular seats and then has the right to buy season tickets for those seats. A seat license, unlike season tickets, is transferable via a will or trust.
If you own season tickets, be sure to specifically include them in your estate planning and be sure you alert your attorney before he or she drafts your will or trust.
To discuss your NJ estate planning, please contact Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. toll-free at (855) 376-5291 or email him at fniemann@hnlawfirm.com. Please ask us about our video conferencing or telephone consultations if you are unable to come to our office.
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold Township, Monmouth County, NJ Estate Planning Attorney