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I am buying a car but the probate on the car has not been granted yet due to death(dont ask) but i need the car now. can i just pay for it and register it in my name
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SWMBO's 306 was purchased by us in a sealed bids process from the estate of the deceased former owner. On speaking to the solicitor to ask why the delay from former owner's demise before the sale process could commence, I learned that probate had to be completed first.
To me, this makes perfect sense, because otherwise items could be sold or otherwise disposed off that ought to have gone in a different direction.
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"disposed off" is of course "disposed of", sorry.
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Depends who owned it, their relationship to you, details of the will. Speak to the executor.
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I may be able to help here from recent personal experience.
PU, IIRC probate is only really necessary for items over £15K?? Don't quote me on this, wait for PU to respond.
Aside from that, when I transferred my late mother's car (as the executor) to the wife, I simply filled in the V5 as she would have done then signed it on her behalf. I enclosed an explanitory note together with a sealed copy (office copy) of the death certificate - probate had not been obtained at that time. The transfer did take longer but it came through within about 4 to 6 weeks IIRC. Its value on transfer was c£2K
Having said that, the registered keeper is not necessarily the legal owner. The executer may be adopting caution here, possibly having been told he should not finalise any transactions until probate has been granted. Assuming that probate will be granted soon.
Again, PU or DavidHM should answer this as well, but could the buyer ask the seller to sign the car over and enclose the death cert and a note as I did? Assuming the car is to be kept by Andrew for a little while, would this create a problem, or should he wait until probate has been granted before formally accepting ownership of the car?
It would pay you to contact DVLA and discuss it with them.
Practically speaking, lack of probate only stopped me getting access to the deceased bank accounts etc and would have stopped a house sale going through.
Hugo
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I may be able to help here from recent personal experience. PU, IIRC probate is only really necessary for items over £15K?? Don't quote me on this, wait for PU to respond. Aside from that, when I transferred my late mother's car (as the executor) to the wife, I simply filled in the V5 as she would have done then signed it on her behalf. I enclosed an explanitory note together with a sealed copy (office copy) of the death certificate - probate had not been obtained at that time. The transfer did take longer but it came through within about 4 to 6 weeks IIRC. Its value on transfer was c£2K Having said that, the registered keeper is not necessarily the legal owner. The executer may be adopting caution here, possibly having been told he should not finalise any transactions until probate has been granted. Assuming that probate will be granted soon. Again, PU or DavidHM should answer this as well, but could the buyer ask the seller to sign the car over and enclose the death cert and a note as I did? Assuming the car is to be kept by Andrew for a little while, would this create a problem, or should he wait until probate has been granted before formally accepting ownership of the car? It would pay you to contact DVLA and discuss it with them. Practically speaking, lack of probate only stopped me getting access to the deceased bank accounts etc and would have stopped a house sale going through. Hugo
Hugo,
I have been involved in the distribution of several estates and my understanding of Probate is different to yours - although I stress it is only my understanding.
Before probate is granted surely it must be formally determined that the Will (for which you were executor) was the last Will. Theoretically your mother could have made out another later Will (of which you were unaware)leaving everything to Battersea Dogs Home.
Also someone could have a claim on an Estate -Tax man, Bank etc and for that reason you cannot dispose of any property without permission.
I appreciate in most cases there is no dispute but I am aware of one very complicated case - with lots of claims on the estate which took forever to sort out.
C
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Cardew,
Hence my advice....
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Cardew, Hence my advice....
Pugugly,
You suggested that he speak to the executor.
The point I was making was that until probate is granted the executor has no standing as there may be another later Will with another executor appointed - or unknown claims against the estate - or challenges to the validity of the Will.
Some executors(Hugo?) may not be aware of their legal position.
C
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Cardew,
you may be right and this is the danger of asking such a question here with so little detail - there isn't enough info to give a straight answer to this.
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Not for the first time I stand corrected!
In my situation, we sought legal advice before we did anything. The Solicitor, who initially drew up the will of the deceased and subsequently applied for probate after her death, advised me that in practise there would be no reason for me not to divest some items.
The solicitor was confident that the will we had was the most recent. Hence several items, the car included were not specifically listed in the will and thus were treated as part of the disposable assets of the estate. In addition the transferring of the vehicle to the wife rather than an unknown third party probably made things easier.
As I was also a beneficiary of the will I simply ensured that none of the other beneficiaries needed the vehicle, then agreed a value with them. The eventual finacial distribution was altered to compensate the other beneficiaries.
You're probably right though Cardew, In the strictest sence perhaps I should have waited for probate to be granted. However, I acted on the advice given for the situation affecting the estate I administered. The estate that Andrew is trying to buy the car from may be in a totally different set of circumstances. In addition, the deceased was my mother and hence I had a pretty good handle on who she owed money to or who owed the estate.
Hugo
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