So I didn’t get a title for a car if the owner is deceased.
Possible ScenariosMaybe you bought a car from the family of somebody who died. Maybe you bought a car from somebody you didn’t get the paperwork from, and maybe they died later.
Main IssueIn any case, if the owner of the vehicle is deceased and you need to get some paperwork signed, it creates some difficulties because if they’re dead, they can’t sign any paperwork.
SolutionsYou may be able to apply for an airship title where the heirs to the vehicle are listed as relatives by the court. You may have to go through a will or probate process if the person has died and has left their assets to some other party. If there’s an executor of the estate, that can happen.
Lien ConsiderationsWell, what if there’s a lien on the car? Well, then you might have to have the lien holder sign a lien release letter.
Helpful PaperworkA bill of sale from the executor of the estate may be a helpful piece of paperwork to use for some processes, like a bonded title or Vermont title, depending on the scenario.
Worst-Case ScenarioIn the worst-case scenario, you may have to go through a court order title process, which takes a long time, but it’s not as hard as it sounds. Every municipal court and county court has a process for having you declared the legal owner of the vehicle by affidavit.
DocumentationIf you are the heir to that person and have a death certificate and a will or probate, you can go directly to DMV, and they’ll process your title application. Make sure, though, that you have a copy of that death certificate to go along with the aircraft.
DIY ProcessAgain, these are all things you can do yourself. Sometimes they seem complicated because you’ve not done them before, but there is a do-it-yourself process that costs very little money. You’ll have to pay some title agent a ton of money to get a title for you if it’s just a deceased owner.
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Scenario Number One: True DuplicateSo if you need to get a title for your car, we’re going to look at scenario number one, which is what we call a true duplicate. What that means is that the vehicle is currently legally titled in your name, and all that happened is that you lost that document. I mean, the title was already printed with your name on the front, your address on the front, and it was issued to you. You just lost it. It’s not that it was signed over to you. It’s not that somebody gave you a title application. It means you issued to you. You just lost it. It’s not that it was signed over to you. It’s not that somebody gave you a title application. It means you already have the title in your name. If that’s the case, then here we go.
Steps to Get a Duplicate TitleAll you need to do is go to the DMV office the title office their license office whenever they call in your state sometimes it’s Department of Transportation sometimes its Secretary of State if that’s the case you go to that office you bring your photo ID and you bring your VIN number your vehicle identification number with those two things you present it to the clerk they’ll look up in their system to make sure that you are the legal title donor that vehicle they will check your ID to make sure you are that person because they don’t want to be handing out legal documents to the wrong person right so once they verify that you can order duplicate title right on the spot and it’s exactly what it sounds like it is a duplicate replacement title there’s no changes they don’t put it in somebody else’s name they don’t change anything about it.
In-Person Process and Possible Mail DeliveryNow, that’s easy to do in many cases; they may be able to hand it to you on the spot. In some DMVs, now we’re going to have a vault printing system where they don’t keep blank titles on location because people were stealing the blanks and typing them up with any car they wanted, and it was a security problem. Sometimes, a state will have a vault where they print all the titles. You can order it at the branch location, but they may have to mail it to you in a few days.
Handling Liens on the VehicleOne other curveball that may come up is if you had a lien on the vehicle, even if it’s paid off, the DMV may not be aware that that lien is cleared. Here’s why, when you paid the last payment on that car loan, the bank simply pulled that title out of their file cabinet, signed it, stamped it paid, and mailed it to you. They never really notified the DMV that you paid off your loan, so now it could be ten years later and the DMV’s records still show that loan that was originally issued on that title, so you might have to get a lien clearance letter or a lien release letter to bring with you so the DMV will issue that title.
Cost and DIY ProcessA true duplicate it’s very inexpensive some states as low as two dollars most states are between 10 and 15 sometimes 20 dollars there’s a few notable exceptions the state of Florida has a 70 or 80 dollar fee the state of Illinois has a 70 or $80 fee most states are relatively inexpensive and you can do this yourself you don’t have to pay anybody to do this you don’t have to hire a title agent to do it you can do it all yourself you probably cannot do it online you probably need to maybe download the form from the website print it out sign it in most cases the DMV is going to want to have good identification of you as the owner so that way it protects you from having somebody just type in your VIN number online and get your title you want to have your title protected so that only you are able to get it and that is policed by having a legal form with a signature sometimes it has to be notarized if you’re not going to be in person at the DMV office but every state runs a little bit different so a true duplicate with no name changes is a very straightforward process it’s a little bit of bureaucracy because you are dealing with a government agency but it’s something you can do yourself usually inexpensive make sure if there was a lien that you have a lien release letter and it should be in good shape without too much hassle look for that form on their DMV website you can download it print it and handle it that way.
Contacting the Prior Owner for Title AssistanceSo if you have a vehicle that you’re missing paperwork on to get a title one of the options you have is a prior owner contact you may have already thought of this of going back to the last owner who had a title and having them help you get a new title in your name if you purchased the car from the individual who had the legal title in their name that person can help you by getting a duplicate title and then signing it over to you be aware that only the current legal title owner can get a duplicate you can’t get a duplicate nobody else can the only person is the last title owner whose name was printed on the front of the title.
Making the Process Easy for the Prior OwnerSo if you know who that person is you can contact them and ask them for their help to get you a title sometimes a person might be reluctant to help you because they think they have to go to DMV they have to wait in line they have to do all this stuff in fact you can actually make it easy form in many cases you offering to do most of the legwork will be the thing that gets that person to call you back if you’ve been trying to text the owner or call them or email and we’re Facebook them and they’re not calling you back make it clear that you don’t want them to have to go down a weighted line all you need him to do is sign a form and if you get the form that’s needed to get a duplicate title from the DMV and you fill it out for me make it really easy and all you do is say hey look I got to do is put your autograph on this in many cases that will help you get that process done sometimes it has to be notarized but in many cases it doesn’t.
Handling Unknown Prior OwnersWell what if you don’t know who that owner is well we’ll talk about that momentarily how you can maybe get that information but if you do get the form signed look on that form in your state to see if you can do in duplicate and simultaneous transfer if you can get a simultaneous transfer this state will print a duplicate and at the same time put into your name without having to have the title sent to that person and then wait for them to get it and then have them signed it over to you if you can do duplicate and simultaneous transfer it saves you a step gets a title right in your name remember only the legal title owner can do this now what if you don’t know who the owner is how do you handle that.
Privacy Laws and Alternative SolutionsWell unfortunately the ownership records for a vehicle are protected under a federal privacy law called the DPP a the driver’s Privacy Protection Act and it prevents and prohibits any entity government entity company anybody from releasing ownership records for a person without their permission so you can’t just say I want to know who the owner of that car is because it’s against the law for anybody to tell you we have access to the records the DMV does but we can’t release it to a third party however we can use those records to try to contact a prior owner on your behalf as a licensed private investigative agency we can look up those records and take it the next step because in many cases the records will have an old address for that person they may have moved from there since that title is issued five or ten years ago find out where they live now and contact them about getting you your title and in many cases we do just exactly what we mentioned before we make it very easy for them we make it a simple process we have a kind of tried-and-true send a letter or certified letter with a four minute that we do with a very particular wording to make it in their best interest to help you out getting a title we do without revealing their identity to you but with your permission we would let them know if they had any questions about what they’re doing they could call you up but they’re gonna have the form to fill out the form to sign everything’s gonna be right in that envelope along with a return envelope with a stamp on it with your address on it so all they have to do is open it up sign it glue the envelope and send it to you and they’re all set so that’s one option you may have about contacting prior owners if before doing that you use some effort with that vehicle to try to find out if you can locate their information in the vehicle maybe there’s an old oil change receipt under the backseat maybe in the trunk there’s you know a business card something that might help you locate that person maybe even the dealership plate frame might help you go to that dealership and find out who bought the car do everything you can first to locate that person try to contact them but if you run out of avenues you want a back-up plan you can call us up but we can see how we can help you book contacting prior owner in many cases is your only option if that legal title is still in somebody else’s name technically they still own a car and you want to get it to your name as soon as you can.
Option Three: Bonded TitleSo if you’re looking to get a title for your vehicle we’re gonna now look at option number three in scenario three meaning that you purchase a vehicle you have limited documentation and the vehicle is newer than 15 years old in that case one of the options that is most often used is what’s called a bonded title.
The Bonding ProcessIn that scenario you purchase a bond from a bonding company it’s the same kind of company the issues bonds that get people out of jail it’s kind of like getting your title out of jail is what it is and they guarantee the ownership of your vehicle if you don’t have the right documentation meaning that you don’t have the old title you don’t have a signed over legal document to you from the prior owner and a bill of sale doesn’t count by the way it’s good that you have that but it’s not enough.
Exchanging the Bond for TitleThe bonding company will issue in lieu of that this vehicle bond once you have that you bring it to the DMV or the title office or the license office whatever it’s called in your state and you exchange it for a title in your name.
Costs and ConsiderationsNow what’s the catch well the catch is the bond might cost you 100 110 hundred and twenty dollars and they also have to prove it at the bonding company remember they’re guaranteeing the full value of the vehicle and you’re only paying $100 so if something goes wrong with the ownership or there’s a claim or there’s a lien they’re on the hook for so they’re gonna make sure that their chances of having to pay that out or slim they don’t want to be adding risk to their portfolio but once you get that bond in your hand you’re clear to go you can go to the DMV and get a title in your name.
Title SpecificsIn some states that title may be stamped bonded title it’s not like a salvage title or anything like that it just means that for three or five years that’s going to be on the title so that the bonding company knows that their lien or their bond is protected some states don’t recognize the bonded title so you have to make sure that the state you’re in is okay with that and if you are and kind of move to another state that doesn’t recognize it that could be a problem too it’s something to look into as an option if you don’t have sufficient documentation.
Do-It-Yourself OptionIt’s also something you can do yourself you don’t have to pay and out company to do this process for you you buy the bond from the bonding company 100 120 bucks in most cases that bonding company will also help you do the paperwork you don’t have to pay somebody else to do that so find the right company ask them if they will help you with the DMV paperwork turned in that bond wait a few days you’ll have a title in your name and that may be the solution as a worst case scenario if you have no other options.
Scenario OverviewSo if you need to get a title for your vehicle, we’re gonna look at scenario number two where it’s a vehicle that was not legally titled in your name. Maybe you got a title signed over to you and you lost it. Maybe the person who you bought it from didn’t have a title to give you. Maybe there was some other transaction that got you the car but didn’t get you the paperwork.
Bill of Sale ImportanceSo the first question is, do you have a bill of sale? A bill of sale is a receipt, is something showing that an event took place of transferring that car to you. It’s not a full legal ownership transfer because a bill of sale can be signed by anybody. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the person who signed it to you is the legal owner. So you can’t use a bill of sale in most cases by itself in order to get a title.
Vermont Registration Ownership DocumentHere’s one process that might work for a vehicle that’s 15 years old or older and you only have a bill of sale. In the state of Vermont, they will issue what’s called a registration ownership document. It’s not a title; they technically don’t issue titles for 15-year-old cars. They only issue a registration ownership. Matter of fact, when you get one, they’ll send you license plates. It’s a registration, but since that is their version of a legal ownership document, it is legally recognizable in other states.
How to Obtain Vermont Registration OwnershipThey will issue that ownership document to you with only a bill of sale. You don’t have to be in Vermont, the car doesn’t have to be in Vermont, nothing has to be about Vermont except for you mail them a form with a copy or a bill of sale and you pay their fee, which is $72 or $76. They will then mail you back this registration ownership.
Converting Vermont Document to Your State TitleOnce you get it, you bring it to your state. That’s your ownership claim and trade it in for a title. You may have to pay sales tax on the vehicle depending upon the transaction and what state you’re in, but the Vermont ownership registration document is a two-step process that many people use to get a title from their state when they have limited documentation with a bill of sale.
Completing the Vermont ApplicationThe bill of sale can be handwritten; it doesn’t have to be in a particular form. But you do have to fill out the correct Vermont application form. It’s form number VD-119. You can download it from the Vermont website. They don’t charge for that. You can print it. I recommend printing a couple of copies in case you make a mistake, and making a photocopy of your bill of sale so that way you have your original to retain.
Contacting Vermont DMVIf you have any questions, you can call up the DMV. They’re glad to help you out. Remember, they’re not issuing you a title, so if you ask them about a title, they’re gonna tell you, “We don’t give you a title for that car,” which is true because they only issue a registration. It’s a process used; it may or may not be applicable in your particular case, but it is something to take a look at as an option if you have limited documentation from your purchase.
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