Sending off V5 after a bereavement

BR5500

My father has recently passed away and I need to register his car in my mother's name, cancel the road tax and re-start the road tax for my mother.

Is this just a case of sending off the V5, completing my mother as the new keeper and enclosing a covering letter stating my mum's details for the road tax refund and to re-tax the car using the green slip online?

Do I need to enclose a copy of the will? (it is a very straightforward will, everything is left to my mother)

Many thanks in advance

Car_54

Sorry to hear of your loss.

I’d send the V5 with a covering letter and a copy of the death certificate, with your mum’s bank details. If the tax was paid from a joint account, the latter shouldn’t be needed. 

The will is irrelevant. It isn’t needed, and  proves nothing unless it’s been through probate. (Without probate, no one knows whether a will is valid, and whether it was the last version.)

Brie

Check if the post office can certify a copy of the death certificate if you only have the one copy.  Or see if you can get extra copies as no doubt you'll need to send it off in all directions at once.  

BR5500

Many thanks for all your help, it is much appreciated.

I've just found this on the DVLA website and while I must admit I'm not  feeling 100% to put it mildly, I don't think I have to send off a death certificate according to this:

www.gov.uk/tell-dvla-about-bereavement/keeping-the-vehicle

A relative recommended buying 12 death certificates at £11 each but I ended up buying 6 as I've tried to visit building societies in person so they can copy the certificate in front of me and return it rather than sending it off and waiting a long time for it to arrive in the post.

EssexExile

The death certificate isn't needed. I've done this recently when my wife died, just follow the instructions on that DVLA page you found.

ss2020jd

Sorry for your loss. 

If you use the government’s tell us once service they will automatically notify DVLA and cancel the road tax and give any refund due. They write to you explaining about how to transfer the V5. 

It covers most government departments and I found it very helpful when I recently went through this with my stepfather. 

Goudy

Condolences.

Even if you don't use either service and just change keeper, the outstanding tax will be returned in his name.
It can be cashed into his account and added to his estate if an executor or administrator (in the case of no will) has control of his bank account.

It's quite normal cheques and other payments, both in and out are handled by the executor as part of probate.

Sea_Shell

I'm assuming your mum drives.   Have you also notified the insurers?

I've often wondered what happens if a non-driver inherits a vehicle, and how easy it is to sort out.   Insure, move* and sell.

* If kept somewhere different from the beneficiary.

If probate isn't needed to transfer, is it also not needed to sell?

Bigphil1474

The V5 only records the registered keeper so transferring it to a surviving spouse isn't changing the ownership. Technically a vehicle owned by the deceased couldn't be sold until probate is completed, but it doesn't necessarily follow that the RK is the owner especially when dealing with a married couple i.e. they probably both own it.

Car_54

Goudy said:

Condolences.

Even if you don't use either service and just change keeper, the outstanding tax will be returned in his name.
It can be cashed into his account and added to his estate if an executor or administrator (in the case of no will) has control of his bank account.

It's quite normal cheques and other payments, both in and out are handled by the executor as part of probate.

That's not how it worked when I handled these things in a major bank.

The account would simply be "frozen" on death - no payments out (but in-payments accepted) - until such time as the  entire balance could be paid to the executor or admin. That meant either grant of probate (or the Scottish equivalent), or for smaller accounts the submission of a statutory declaration. The only exceptions would be the release of funds for funeral expenses or inheritance tax.