V5 fraud

GingerLou

So my mother died in December and left her estate to me. Her partner who lived off her for years as he's lazy failed to give me all her documents when I asked. He also wouldn't let me in the house. He has signed the v5 of her car over to himself after she's died. What the hell do I do. Seems if you have the keys and the v5 you can steal someone's car. 

Grey_Critic

Talk to a solicitor.

Ectophile

Having the V5 is not proof of ownership (it says so on the front in big letters).  But you will need to take a legal route if you want to get the car back.

Flight3287462

I assume you own the house?  Does he have right to live in it until he dies?  If not why not start eviction at the same time?

Herzlos

v5 isn't proof of ownership, it's right there at the top.

Definitely talk to a solicitor, and possibly the police once you confirm that it's theft.

GingerLou

I regard it as theft just unbelievable that someone can do this and you have to essentially pay to get back what's yours. The cars probably worth 6k. Reckon I could spend that at the solicitors 

Keep_pedalling

This thread really belongs over on the Deaths, funeral and probate board.

Anything jointly owned by your mother and her partner now belongs to him, and unless she specifically mentioned the car in her will you are going to have a near impossible task to prove that the car was not a joint asset, and that will also apply to the contents of the house.

GingerLou

He owns nothing jointly he never paid for anything during their relationship he is a moocher. It is impossible to explain the man's character as nobody believes it until they actually see it. At the will reading the solicitor said everything is mine.

Keep_pedalling

GingerLou said:

He owns nothing jointly he never paid for anything during their relationship he is a moocher. It is impossible to explain the man's character as nobody believes it until they actually see it. At the will reading the solicitor said everything is mine.

All of her sole assets maybe yours but regardless of who paid for the car proving that it was her sole asset is going to very difficult as all he has to say is that she bought it for both of them. My advice is to try and take some of the emotion out of it and chooses your battles wisely. Disputed ownership is a civil matter and the likely legal costs to fight this are likely to be way more than the value of the car. If he has no assets then he could get legal aid to defend his claim you won’t.

On the assumption that he is currently living in your mothers house, that is going to be your major issue as unless he goes of his own accord you are going to have to go through the long winded process of evicting him.

Are you the executor?

JJ_Egan

Surely the key here is what the partner is entitled to in law .

Take it their is no will .

Keep_pedalling

JJ_Egan said:

Surely the key here is what the partner is entitled to in law .

Take it their is no will .

The OP did say there is a will which leaves everything to them, unfortunately that doesn’t help resolve the issue of the car ownership prior to their mothers death.