- Jurisdiction
- Alabama
My father passed away in May, he lived in Alabama. My mother has Alzheimers and I have POA for her. All of their financial accounts, house, rental properties, etc. were all set up in joint tenancy which made transferring them to mom and/or selling them a breeze. Since all of their major assets were transfer on death, joint tenancy, etc., we were told by an AL lawyer that we wouldn't need to go through probate. Now we are down to the two cars - I guess since mom hadn't been driving when he bought them, dad titled them in his name only, with clear Alabama titles, no liens. The cars are maybe worth $20,000 each.
As soon as dad passed, we moved mom to an assisted living in another state to be closer to one of us kids. The house in AL has been cleared out and is on the market. We brought both cars to TX and they are parked in the parking garage at her assisted living facility. I was planning on selling at least one of them last week when I visited TX, but that's when I realized it was titled in dad's name only.
Both AL and TX have Next of Kin Affidavits or Affidavits of Heirship. My mom was his wife and my brother and I are his only children. Brother and I both agree that the cars need to be sold since mom has no use for them, except for their monetary value. There are no second wives or stepchildren or half siblings either. Am i supposed to do the AL next of Kin Affidavit to transfer it into mom's name with an Alabama title, then sell them on her behalf? Or can I just fill out the TX Affidavit of Heirship and use that to sell to the new buyer? Will TX balk at an out of state title being transferred this way? Mom is still somewhat aware, so if she needs to sign it, she certainly can, though I tend to sign everything for her.
If you can't tell, I rarely sell a car myself. Our attorney wanted $300 to discuss this and I feel like it's a matter of just understanding what form I need to use, not some complicated legal matter that I would gladly pay for.
As soon as dad passed, we moved mom to an assisted living in another state to be closer to one of us kids. The house in AL has been cleared out and is on the market. We brought both cars to TX and they are parked in the parking garage at her assisted living facility. I was planning on selling at least one of them last week when I visited TX, but that's when I realized it was titled in dad's name only.
Both AL and TX have Next of Kin Affidavits or Affidavits of Heirship. My mom was his wife and my brother and I are his only children. Brother and I both agree that the cars need to be sold since mom has no use for them, except for their monetary value. There are no second wives or stepchildren or half siblings either. Am i supposed to do the AL next of Kin Affidavit to transfer it into mom's name with an Alabama title, then sell them on her behalf? Or can I just fill out the TX Affidavit of Heirship and use that to sell to the new buyer? Will TX balk at an out of state title being transferred this way? Mom is still somewhat aware, so if she needs to sign it, she certainly can, though I tend to sign everything for her.
If you can't tell, I rarely sell a car myself. Our attorney wanted $300 to discuss this and I feel like it's a matter of just understanding what form I need to use, not some complicated legal matter that I would gladly pay for.
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