Coveted season tickets can be valuable both monetarily and sentimentally. It is often a complicated and expensive process to secure the tickets in the first place. There may be long wait lists and a hefty price to pay. After going through that trouble and expense, you may wonder what will happen to seats/season passes if you die unexpectedly? Can you plan ahead through proper estate planning to ensure someone you love who will appreciate the tickets actually gets them?
While you can make a specific bequest of the season tickets in your will, keep in mind that a season ticket is a contract between you and the team. Each team puts its own set of restrictions in that contract. The terms often include how the tickets can be transferred, both during your life and at your death. Some may even preclude you from transferring them via probate through your will. They may state that the tickets are transferable on death to a spouse or some other chosen beneficiary.
Also, some teams require the purchase of a seat license separate and apart from the season tickets themselves. Think of the seat license more like real estate. Seat licenses, offered by some colleges and most professional teams, can be purchased, often for tens of thousands of dollars per seat. This purchase grants you a license to a particular seat and grants you the right to buy season tickets each year. You purchase and own the seat, therefore you can transfer that asset via will or trust. The season tickets that must accompany the seat license to get you past the gate and into the seats may be treated differently.
The team itself sets the restrictions for its season ticket holders, be it is a college team or a professional team. The professional organizations such as Major League Baseball, National Football League and the National Basketball Association do not have a say in the season ticket restrictions for the teams and venues.
Discuss your seat licenses and season ticket passes with your estate planning attorney so that the contract can be reviewed. This will allow you to plan the appropriate method of transfer. The estate planning attorneys at Stouffer Legal in the Greater Baltimore area can help you. They are versed in the local team policies – Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles and Maryland Terrapins- but can help with any other team tickets as well. You can schedule an appointment by calling us at (443) 470-3599 or emailing us at office@stoufferlegal.com.
