Small estates probate question

[Richard W]

Jurisdiction

Tennessee

Father died without a will.
House was quit claimed to me years ago.
Insurance policy's all have named beneficiaries.
No bank accounts that need to go thru probate.

I have estimated the value of his old worn out household goods at 2000.00 and I believe I am being generous. There is a 1994 Chevy car in poor shape. I estimate at 2000.00 and that is being very generous.

I paid for his funeral out of my funds. It was a little over 10,000.00

My first question is Can I submit the funeral bill to the estate and just accept the car and home goods as payment ?

I would be fine with not being paid for the funeral. I would even pay the estimated value to the estate for the car and furniture and have the estate split up the money.

My problem is that there are two heirs that probably won't be able to sign off on anything or attend court. They are my deceased brothers adult children and they are homeless drug addicts.

Finding them..getting them to sign anything or appear at a hearing would be near if not completely impossible. My thinking is that if I submit my funeral bill to the estate and the estate value is less...which it certainly is... that there will not be anything to distribute.

There are 3 more heirs and they can all sign off anything or appear at the hearing and all these heirs are fine with what I am proposing.

 

[zddoodah]

My first question is Can I submit the funeral bill to the estate and just accept the car and home goods as payment ?

Has probate been opened? In other words, if the answer to this question were yes, what exactly would you do?

You could start probate yourself, but it seems that the value of the estate wouldn't warrant that (esp. since your priority claim for funeral/burial expenses seems to dwarf the value of the estate). The household goods can be throw away or distributed as you all see fit since they don't have a title. The car is trickier since it's a titled asset. The notion that a 25 year old car in poor condition is worth $2k is a bit specious (per Kelly Blue Book, a 1994 Cavalier in fair condition with 300k miles is worth no more than a few hundred dollars).

I suggest you do some googling (e.g., "tennessee small estate procedure") and/or call the DMV to find out how you can gain title without formal probate so that you can re-title the car and/or donate it so that you can be rid of it.

 

[adjusterjack]

I suggest you do some googling (e.g., "tennessee small estate procedure") and/or call the DMV to find out how you can gain title without formal probate so that you can re-title the car and/or donate it so that you can be rid of it.

Here:

How do I title and register a vehicle that I inherited?

 

[army judge]

Antique Auto Title & Registration in TN:
Available to: Owners of a passenger vehicle or motorcycle more than 25 years old with non-modified engine and body. No renewal required. The registration is a permanent registration and is not required to be renewed annually. Once assigned, the license plate cannot be reassigned to another vehicle.

Documentation required: Certification for Antique Registration form.
Cost: $32.75



The antique vehicle registration details:
• Must be a motor vehicle over twenty-five (25) years old and have a non-modified engine and body,
• Can be used for participation in, or transportation to and from, club activities, exhibits, tours, parades, and similar uses as a collector's item,
• Can only be used for general transportation on Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays.
• Can be used on any day for the purpose of selling, vehicle testing, or obtaining repairs to or doing maintenance on the vehicle.




CERTIFICATION FOR ANTIQUE VEHICLE REGISTRATION FORM

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/forms/titlereg/f1312901Fill-in.pdf


How much is an antique tag in Tennessee?

Cost of registration.
Class (C) Antique Vehicles - registration fee is $32.75, plus any applicable county fees.