How to transfer a car title after someone dies.
Attorney Tom Olsen: Chrisy, I've been telling clients for years and I believe it's accurately telling them that cars, vehicles don't have to go through probate. If your spouse or your parent passed away with a car titled in their name, that you can go down to the tag and title agency with the appropriate documents and they will retitle that vehicle into your name. I've been telling that to people for years and years and nobody's ever come back and told me, "Tom you're wrong, it requires some probate process."
As it turns out I am the executor for one of the client's estate that we're doing and so guess what? I'm going down there to the tag and title office on Monday trying to transfer a car title without this probate process.
Attorney Chris Merrill: I really look forward to your information when you come back.
Tom: I would say that as a general rule a lot of people might say, "Tom, yes, I got it done it took me two appointments to get it done. One to figure out what do, and what forms to fill out. Then going back there a second time and doing it.
Chris: With everything.
Tom: That might be the general rule but I'm going to try and have all my ducks in a row here and have anything and everything I might need to get this done in one trip and I've got an appointment at 7 AM on Monday morning.
Chris: Good, I look forward to hearing your results because I know that it's important. We do get a lot of questions about how to handle the transfer of title of vehicles. Even though we do probates here in our office a lot of these questions come on the front end when you, me, when we're trying to help people with estate planning.
Tom: Yes and as far as I know it works for car, boat, RV, you name, it works for all titles. Nothing that I know of says it's limited to no more than one. You might go down there with five car titles and they might do them all for you as far as I know. We're about to find out.
Chris: We're going to find out.
Tom: The common question that we often get is that say mom has passed away she had a car titled in her name only, she had three kids and the three kids are saying, "Hey, we just want the car to go to just one of us. Can we do it that way?" I tell them I think you can. Just got to fill out the appropriate forms again and Alexis, our lawyer daughter is out there right now working on that form for us but that might be certainly one of the options as long as all the kids sign off on it. You don't have to go in all three, just one of them, one of their names.
Chris: That to me is very important information because you're right that is a common question.
Tom: Yes, Alexis is going to be on with me in the second half of the radio show.
Chris: To talk about it.
Tom: I might ask her about that form.
Chris: I think so.
Tom: I told Alexis, again our lawyer daughter, that I was doing it ans she goes, "Oh, I've got the form. I've got the form. I help clients do it.
Chris: She was ready, willing, and able to help.
Tom: I'm glad I spoke up because I looked at that form, I go, "That's a lot of blanks to fill in." I guess I could have done it at that moment in time. They might have said, "Here, Mr. Olsen, here's a form. Go stand over there and fill it out, when you get ready, get back in line but hopefully-
Chris: You think you're going to be more prepared.
Tom: -I'm going to walk up and say here's my form, here's my letters of administration, here's a copy of the trust, here's a copy of the will, here's a copy of the death certificate.
Chris: There you go. Here's it all.
Tom: Overwhelm them with paperwork.
Chris: I think that's a good idea.
Tom: So won't have any reason to deny me.
Chris: Right. Here it is. Here's all your paperwork.
Tom: Hopefully they'll say, "Yes, you're at the right place. You're at the right window." Because not all tag and title offices handle car tags. I could see that.
Chris: That's correct. That's another factor.
Tom: Yes, so if anybody's out there listening and they've got personal experience with transferring car titles of somebody who's passed away typically one of your parents or sibling or something and want to call us and let us know what your experience was, we'd love to hear from you right now. 407-916-5400, Texas, 23680. I got to add one more thing to that and that is this is that for you to do this it requires that you have the car title.
First of all a lot of people say, "Yes, my car is paid in full. Where is the title?" Well, these days-
Chris: Electronic.
Tom: -it's an electronic title. I have in the past and part of doing this process you can log on to the DMV and find your car and it will say electronic title and you can check a box send me the paper title. I think it's like five bucks or something so they'll send you the paper title. So far so good. Let's say mom passed away, she owned a car, we're trying to avoid probate on it but she had a lien against it. She owed money to the bank. Well in that situation I believe the kids, if they really want this car, they're going to have to first pay off the bank loan so that they can get the title to the vehicle so that they can then transfer it into their name.
Chris: Exactly because my understanding is they won't give you the title unless.
Tom: Correct, you do anything with it. Don't get the title until it's been paid in full. Of course, if you're saying, "Well, mom's passed away. She owned a 2023 vehicle that's worth $20,000 and she owes $25,000," well then you say give it back to the lender. There's nothing there for you, there's no equity in it you might say. You got to make that decision. All about car titles. Again if you've transferred a car title, we'd love to hear about your experience or any other legal question right now, 407.
Studio now with me is Attorney Alexis Richards. Alexis, welcome to the show.
Alexis Richards: Thanks for having me, Tom.
Tom: Alexis, in the first quarter of the show we were talking about transferring car titles when somebody passes away. I've been a lawyer for over 40 years and for over 40 years I've been telling people cars, boats, vehicles, RVs don't have to go through probate and that is a true statement. It requires that the client go down to the tag and title office with certain documentation and the car title and they will retitle that car into their names.
Alexis: That is true.
Tom: You are the probate attorney here at the Olsen Law Group so you have a more of a day-to-day experience with people doing that very thing. Is that right?
Alexis: That is correct.
Tom: Tell us, what do about transferring car titles when let's say mom passes away and she had three kids and mom's got a title to a car in mom's name only. What are you telling people?
Alexis: Of course I am no expert, I don't work at the DMV. However, what I have learned from clients over the past several months is if there is a situation like you're saying where there are three kids, a lot of times the kids will agree that one person will get the vehicle and yes they can transfer it at the DMV with no probate. However, the DMV requires that each of the kids that are not going to be on the car title have to sign a release that they're giving it to the one child and so it requires multiple forms that need to be filled out.
Tom: What you showed me this morning, I had no idea there was such a thing but there literally is a PDF form that you can get from the tag and title office. Before you go down there to do this you might as well get that form and start filling it out.
Alexis: Exactly and the DMV form is available online. The other thing too that I've helped people with where we have clients that are out of state and they need to transfer vehicles, the DMV also has a specific power of attorney that you can print online and have executed so you can have someone in the state help you with transferring that title.
Tom: When you're looking at that form, the DMV form, does it tell you on there okay fill out this form and when you come down here make sure you bring with you a death certificate and a copy of mom's will?
Alexis: Unfortunately on the form itself it does not list that documentation but if you go on the website it does show it.
Tom: I would like to put a little page on our website olsenlawgroup.com about how to transfer a car title and put that link in there. That would be really nice.
Alexis: I agree,
Tom: I'd like to get myself. Have you followed that link before and that's where it tells you this is what you need to bring with you?
Alexis: Yes, and on the website it shows you the list of what you need to bring including you as the applicant going in with your proof of ID and also two, having those forms prepared and I learned recently from clients where the DMV forms, they don't accept electronic signatures on it. It has to be original ink signatures.
Tom: Does it talk about fees and cost to transfer these car titles and how can they get paid?
Alexis: It does not because what it indicates on the form is inheritance so it doesn't talk about any other tax other than you just, I as far as I know, checking the box for inheritance.
Tom: Well, I'm sure there's a DMV fee for making this transfer but hopefully they'll take credit cards or you may want to take a check with you to pay whatever fees are associated with that.
Alexis: I know you can, just from personal experience, pay with a credit card. However they do charge you the convenience fee, I think.
Tom: Exactly, okay.
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