Selling a deceased parents car

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My dad passed away and I am trying to sell his car. Do I sign the title in my name
 
I'm not a lawyer, but I would guess the car is part of his estate, you will need a copy of the death certificate, then sign the car over to the person. I would probably guess this would be best to do down at your local title/tag office.

You won't want to sign it in your name, you will sign you name, then probably put "executor" next to it.
 
I think you have to be the his 'personal representative' as determined by a court. I know I had to be before I could claim any assets of my father's.
 
There are many different situations. Ideally you have been named the executor of your father's estate, and the will states what can be done with the car and other assets of the estate and therefore you can dispose of the car for the estate. However, you probably will need to provide proof of this at the motor vehicle bureau before they will allow you to sign as the executor. Remember, the estate probably now controls everything your father owned and in most states that will require a will to dispense with these things properly, or else a probate court will determine disposition. It is definitely worth checking with the motor vehicle bureau and probably a lawyer too, which you probably will need for other aspects of the estate. I'm not a lawyer--just someone who went through all of this when my Mom died and left a very simple estate with a clear will, etc. Still, it took more than a year to wrap everything up. Best of luck with it all.
 
Yes, condolences on the loss.

It will vary by state, but here in PA you have to get a letter of executorship from the register of wills. You bring in a death certificate and declare an estimate of the estate. The burial fees and whatnot are charged against it. When all of it is settled, you file a state return. It may, in fact, be negative numbers.

Executor status will allow you to sell personal property ..close out bank accounts.
 
I think when I sold my mother's car in Fl I had to include a copy of the authorization as executor. I remember copies of that death certificates for lots of different things.
 
I bought a car in this situation. The son just signed the bill of sale and the title over as his father. I changed the title at the DMV with no problems. The new title showed up in the mail 2 weeks later with my name on it.
 
My dad executed my grandmother's will a couple years back and to be technically correct, as tomcat said, you need the paperwork. But don't worry about being meticulous - nobody will really care at the DMV enough to pore over the papers.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I lost my Dad back in July.

In CA, ownership of property is usually passed to the next of kin. They can sign the title and transfer ownership to you. Take a death certificate with you to the DMV just in case.
 
I could have continued to insure and tag my mothers car and nobody would have known the difference. Selling it, the notary gets ID from all parties involved. Now if I expired, my son is a Jr. ..and most of my stuff is not noted as Sr.

..but it would be a bit hard for me to masquerade as Mr. Bernice Lorraine Allan.
 
Quote:
..but it would be a bit hard for me to masquerade as Mr. Bernice Lorraine Allan.


Nah, it wouldn't. Whenever somebody looked at you crooked, just say "Yeah, that's my name. They call me Bernie, ya wannafightaboutit?" I bet you wouldn't catch any more static than that.
 
Is your mother still alive and is she on the title? At a min you will need power of attorney and death certificates. I know for my FIL we had to wait several months before we could sell anything. They had to post in the paper his death and if any claims were to be filed it gave them time to do so. Also if he was on Medicare or Medicaid there might be something there that you will have to notify. I know with my Mom the state got its share of the sale of the house for Medicaid. If Mom hadn't put my sister and me on the deed years ago the state would have gotten all of it.
 
You are nothing until the court says you are. Get death certificates and paperwork from court. Then get title in your name and then sell it.
 
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