I recognize you aren’t my lawyer.
My wife’s sister died recently, and we find out the car is titled “sisters name tod wife’s name” and the trashy mobile home is titled “sisters name & wife’s name”.
We don’t want either and would prefer the sisters daughter have them. There are problems…the daughter isn’t trustworthy, we are 500 miles away from the situation, the daughter essentionally has possession of them, and I’m not even sure the trailer title is an actual title or just a photocopy.
We are calling a lawyer where the items are located tomorrow.
We are worried we may be on the hook for all sorts of costs,taxes, lawsuits should someone get hurt in the trailer.
I’m surprised my wife would wind up on these titles without being asked to sign something…seems like a terrible way to hang someone with an albatross.
Any advice on what we should do, or pitfalls we may need to worry about?
We are happy to sign things over to the sisters daughter, but I don’t trust her to complete the paperwork. We may sign the titles over, but if she doesn’t complete the transfer, how can we be assured we won’t be hung with costs of ownership of something we don’t want.
It very much depends on the state. In (I think) most states when you sign over the title there should be some sort of seller’s report you send in that should get your name off the title and release you from any liability even if the buyer blows it off. In some states though (like mine annoyingly) there really isn’t any way to make sure short of actually going with them to the DMV to transfer it.
Also, different states treat mobile homes differently. In some states they treat them more or less like vehicles but other states have special rules for them.
If it is a state that doesn’t have seller’s reports, the lawyer may be able to draft you some sort of CYA bill of sale or other document. Also in some states if there’s two people on the title (and no liens) they’ll let one of them unilaterally take their name off the title.
Well, a quick google shows that Missouri apparently instituted a notice of sale requirement in 2006, so as long as you send that in you should be in the clear on the car. If it’s an old title, it won’t have the tear-away form but you can print one off: Notice of Sale Reporting Requirement
Also since your wife is the TOD on that title I don’t think you need to do anything prior to transferring it.
I’m not so sure about the manufactured home. That link mentions that they’re exempt from the NOS requirement but I don’t know if that means you can optionally send it in or not. Also it looks like you can “affix” the trailer to a real estate deed if it’s permanently parked there, although I assume that’s not the case here? Also it looks like since your wife is a co-owner on that one instead of the TOD person you might need to get a new title in her name alone before you can transfer it.
Despite their reputation, people at the DMV can be quite helpful about things like this so it might be worth just giving them a call.
Did the sister own the land on which the homes sits? If so, that is a deed (or whatever in that state) that needs to be undone - a quit claim, etc.
There may need to be a public notice published to disavow responsibility - that is what those strange little newspapers you (at least used to) see near courthouses - they qualify for the purpose of giving required legal notice.
This is my understanding. No reason to accept any responsibility. Who knows what liabilities might be associated. The daughter is next of kin, if she wants these things let her deal with the probate court or not at her own peril.
But I don’t think either of those will go through the probate court. The “TOD” thing for the car automatically transfers the car to her and she’s listed as a co-owner on the trailer. What it sounds like will happen if they do nothing is the daughter will continue using them even though they’re titled in the wife’s name.
Arguing that she never agreed to the TOD or having her name on the trailer title would probably be an excellent defense during the ensuing lawsuit if something were to happen, but it’d be a heck of a lot easier to just get the title stuff straightened out now.
IANAL but I thought it was a well-known aspect of common law that a person can not be forced to accept a gift.
It seems unlikely that Missouri (or anywhere else where English Common Law is the basis of law) has any law that would compel you to accept this property.
Exactly, it’s called “disclaiming” a gift or bequest.
But note that if you disclaim the bequest, you have no say in what then happens to it. You can’t say “I don’t want it, give it to the daughter.” If you properly disclaim it, it will go to whomever the state’s law says it should go to. But, please consult a qualified attorney in the state in question to make sure you follow the state’s requirements for executing a disclaimer.
Although with the trailer, the state assumes she already owns it so it’s a little late to refuse the bequest. Maybe that could be remedied with some bureaucratic gymnastics but that seems kind of silly when it’d be perfectly easy to transfer the title now. I suppose transferring it could be seen as acknowledging she was in fact the co-owner all those years, but if there’s no reason to suspect any lingering issues my opinion (as an inveterate wheeler-and-dealer of cheap vehicles with sometimes sketchy title situations, NAL obviously) is that it’d be fine.
With the car, I assume they could just refuse the TOD designation and instead make the daughter go through probate, but that seems like kind of dick move. As far as I can tell, if wife takes the title with her named as the TOD beneficiary and signs it over to the daughter, the wife never owned the car and so liability-wise that would be identical to making the daughter go through probate just way less paperwork.
Missouri has what’s called “personal property taxes”. This is a yearly tax on the appraised value or property owned. Not real estate tax, but applies to motor vehicles, airplanes, boats, farm equipment and livestock. It also applies to mobile homes. It’s based on what you own on January 1st each year. In the past it also applied to your household furniture. :eek:
Tru dat. Presumably the OP’s wife had to consent to having her name put on the deed to the trailer; I don’t think your name can be added to a deed without your consent. But that having happened (whenever it did), it’s hers now.
The TOD thing (transfer-on-death) is new to me. (I was a trusts-and-estates paralegal nearly 40 years ago, so I usually have some dim memory of technicalities like this, but damned if this one isn’t a total surprise.) If one can place someone else’s name as the recipient of such a transfer without their consent, as one can do with a will or a trust, then I would expect you’re right on this as well, and one can refuse the bequest, even when it comes by this route.
As you say, the trailer will transfer outside of probate, and so will the car, unless the OP’s wife refuses the bequest.
Hold on a minute…have you inspected the contents of the trailer? There could be a perfectly good meth lab in that bad boy. We are talking about Missouri, aren’t we?
My wife is an attorney licensed in several states including Missouri.
Her (4 x $0.02 per advice unit =) 8 cents is this:
Relax; this is not a novel or expensive problem.
There are standard simple paperwork exercises to handle each of these sub-problems.
You do need a MO attorney, and best to pick one based in the county wherein the mobile home is parked.
The situation does change depending on if the mobile home is in a leased space in a trailer park or is on land owned by the decedent. So have that info ready in addition to all other paperwork you can lay hands on.
thanks all and especially LSLGuy
looks like we are doing the correct thing with getting a lawyer; but wanted to tap the teeming millions for other pitfalls I hadn’t thought of.
She was never asked permission to be put on any of these and never signed anything. The trailer(trash) was bought outright without a loan, and it beats me how her name can wind up on the title without giving permission.
This is assuming her name is ‘officially’ on a title and the piece of paper we have is legitimately a title that has been executed. My feeling is that it was never sent through the DMV or govt agency,
hell, i don’t know what I have or what I’m talking about. This windfall is going to cost me money and frustration. Seems like a great way to get back at someone you don’t like.