If you’re lucky enough to be a season ticket holder for our local sports franchise, you might own one of the most coveted assets in Wisconsin. With more than 155,000 people on the Packers’ season-ticket waiting list (and decades of waiting to get those seats), your tickets may be priceless to your family.
You might assume that your season tickets will automatically pass to your family through your estate plan. However, it isn’t that simple. These tickets are subject to the Packers’ transfer rules. The Packers, like most sports franchises, have specific rules for what happens to season tickets when a ticket holder dies. Tickets may only be left to a spouse or close blood relative, and cannot be transferred to friends. And even when planning to leave your tickets to your surviving spouse or children, certain circumstances must be met.
Season tickets are a license to your seats, not an ownership interest in them. Disputes among family members over who gets season tickets following a loved one’s death often lead to revocation of the tickets altogether.
Avoid this unfortunate result by specifically designating who will receive the tickets. You could also, out of fairness:
- Establish a plan to share the tickets among your children; or
- Make additional distributions to children not receiving the tickets.
Your estate plan should also account for the Packers’ ticket-transfer requirements. A provision in your plan can’t override the Packers’ rules, so understanding both is essential. The best way to avoid disputes is to clearly and effectively communicate and have a plan in place ahead of time. If your season tickets are important to your family, account for them in your estate plan.