How to avoid Florida probate with respect to a vehicle?
Posted By admin on September 13, 2009
Tomel asked:
My mother’s modest financial assets are all held in totten trusts with her children as beneficiaries. Her only other asset of any monetary value is her vehicle. Is there action that can be taken in advance that will allow her children to dispose of her vehicle after her death without going through the Florida probate process for that single asset?
My mother’s modest financial assets are all held in totten trusts with her children as beneficiaries. Her only other asset of any monetary value is her vehicle. Is there action that can be taken in advance that will allow her children to dispose of her vehicle after her death without going through the Florida probate process for that single asset?
Sell it to a child for $1.00 Agreement that vehicle to be resold and assets to be divided as per her request.
Yes, there are a few different avenues. If the vehicle is truly her only asset (because everything else is already held in trusts, joint tenancy, etc.), then it’s pretty easy. Under Florida Statute 735.301, you would qualify for disposing (transferring the property) of the personal property without the need for estate administration or formal proceedings. Your mom’s car is considered exempt property. All you would need to do is go down to the court Clerk’s office (with death certificate) they will give you a form to fill out sign. The court will then transfer ownership. You take this piece of paper to the Florida DMV and the ownership of the vehicle will be transferred. Very easy process the court will help you fill out the form. No attorney needed.
Another option would be for your mom to put the car in a trust with her as the trustee. Then, upon death, her successor trustee would take over. Viable option but requires attorney to draw up paperwork may not be worth the expense just for a car.
Also, if your mom’s only asset is the car, then you could request a Summary Administration from the probate judge. This is more or less the same as the 1st option I listed. The Judge will determine that the estate qualifies as a very small estate and will disburse the assets without formal probate. This takes about 1-2 weeks and all the heirs MUST agree. The death certificate must be filed and proof of the paid funeral bill may be required.
There’s also joint tenancy with right of survivorship; which would mean that all parties involved owned the car in equal shares. Once mom passed away her share in the car would be equally divided among the other surviving owners without any court proceedings. The problem with this is that you all could be held legally liable for damages if she were to get into a car accident injure someone. Cons = Would require a lawyer to draft document for joint tenancy. May have issue changing to joint tenancy due to the unity of time clause.
I know it all seems pretty confusing but really it’s fairly straightforward.
Best of luck!