Transferring a Motor Vehicle After Owner’s Death (Part 1)

It’s a question that comes up often and early when discussing how to administer estates after someone dies.  In part it is because of the difficulties many of us have had at times figuring out New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Services process.  The question is “How exactly do I dispose of a motor vehicle when the owner dies?

The first step is to locate the title to the vehicle.  Without it you can’t transfer title at all.  If you can’t find the title then you’ll need to get replacement title from NJMVS.  But that requires the Owner – who is deceased – to request it.   So, what to do?

If only the deceased owner’s name is listed on the title then the vehicle is part of the probate estate.  In order to obtain replacement title and then transfer title some paperwork will need to be filed with the Surrogate first.  The exact procedure depends on whether there is a Last Will or not and the size of the estate.

If there is a will, the executor named in it must present the document to the Surrogate of the county where the person lived at the time of their death.  With the surrogate certificate showing the appointment, the executor can then sign over title to whomever is intended to receive the vehicle or to a buyer of the vehicle who can then go to MVS to obtain new title.

If there is no will the person applying to be administrator of the estate, once appointed, can then sell or dispose of the vehicle by again signing the title over to the purchaser.  In some cases where there is no will and the estate is small enough there is an abbreviated process to obtain the necessary authorization to dispose of the vehicle without requiring a full application of administration.

There are, however, ways to dispose of the vehicle without needing to involve the Surrogate at all but it requires the owner to set that up before death.  I’ll explain that next week.