Selling deceased's car before probate is issued

nom_de_plume

Is there a posibilty your father's estate could be insolvent? Just thinking of reasons why a solicitor may be saying to hold fire.

marcusjames

Thanks for replies.


The estate isn't insolvent. I'm really not sure why the solicitor has asked me to wait but I'll check.


The solicitor is a joint executor with me.

konark

marcusjames wrote: »

. I'm really not sure why the solicitor has asked me to wait but I'll check.


The solicitor is a joint executor with me.

Waiting is what solicitors do best. They'll be waiting for about a year before giving any of the beneficiaries their money.


PS Unless you've sorted this out with the insurance company I don't think the car will still be insured as the policyholder has died.

t0rt0ise

The solicitor maybe thinks that he should not officially be telling someone to break the law.

Yorkshireman99

t0rt0ise wrote: »

The solicitor maybe thinks that he should not officially be telling someone to break the law.

What law is being broken. The executor can quite legally sell it or instruct someone to do so.

Uxb

I got the DVLA to change the registered keeper to me at my address based on the death certificate which had me as informant and that they already knew anyway from the "tell us once scheme."

Then I sold the car back to the dealer whence it came from - it was sufficiently recent that they remembered the details which made things a lot easier.
Took a bit of time as the location is a long way from where I am.
Dealer paid me in person by cheque and I then accounted for the payment made to me in the estate accounts: I was a beneficiary amongst others in the will.

The solicitor who was handling the IHT/getting probate side was not even consulted and did not say anything at all when I reported the sale price plus the details of the car its condition, date, mileage etc which is required on the IHT forms and copies of the paperwork.

All this was done way before probate was granted

badmemory

Of course, you could wait a year, how much will the estate lose in depreciation? It is now sitting there uninsured & losing value. If someone decides to steal it, then the estate will get nothing at all.


Tell the solicitor to pull his finger out if there is a house to sell & remind him there is supposed to be another financial crash soon.

noh

Selling it is not a problem.
DVLA give guidance on their website. There is no need to re register in the executors name if selling.
https://www.gov.uk/tell-dvla-about-bereavement/selling-the-vehicle