I’ll Be a Fan Until I Die…….What Happens to My Season Tickets
By: Mike Sukup | Published April 5, 2016
Many die hard fans have been season ticket holders for their respective teams for many years. Whether you have been chanting “M-I-Z..Z-O-U” along with thousands of fans since your college days, been faithfully apart of Cardinal Nation from the days of Ozzie Smith and before, or suffered along as a Royals fan through the last thirty years only to see them finally break through, you were there for it all. As you reach the twilight years of your fandom, you may wonder what is going to happen to your seat that you have faithfully filled for decades. The answer to that question is…it depends. Each team, school, or organization has a different policy as to what happens to season tickets upon your passing. Below is a brief overview of the policies for the University of Missouri, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Kansas City Royals.
For Mizzou fans, upon your passing your season ticket account will automatically transfer to your surviving spouse. If you are the surviving spouse or are not married, that is when things become a little more unclear. According to the Mizzou ticket office, any other transfers to children, other family members, or friends at death are evaluated on a case by case basis by the ticket office. This would indicate that you may provide your intentions within your estate plan, but you do not “own” your season tickets and it will still come down to a decision by the ticket office.
The St. Louis Cardinals appear to have the simplest policy. According to the St. Louis Cardinals ticket office, season tickets are transferrable so long the as the new designated season ticket holder contacts the ticket office and assumes any costs or fees associated with the account.
The Royals specifically state that “Royals Season Tickets are not the property of the Season Ticket Member of Record so cannot be treated as such in a will, trust or other property transfer method.” However, the Royals have a process for you. Surviving spouses will be given the option to retain the season tickets and any longevity associated with the account. If you are the surviving spouse or are not married, you may add Season Ticket Partners to the account while living. These Partners will then be given the option to take over the account in the order of longevity of being a Partner on the account.
If you have any questions about what will happen to your season tickets or would like to discuss implementing or updating your estate plan contact me to schedule a free consultation.