Seeking advice on selling late Father in Law's car

Markie11

My late Father in law passed in January this year. Following his death, my mother in law filled out the 'tell us once' government form, including update DVLA. This would have been for his car and his licence.

The car and all assets, according to will is now hers. She is now looking to sell the car privately but a number of questions around this.

Does she legally own it now? Anyway to check this online. I assume she would have been sent a v5 with new keeper details but unsure.

The car is currently showing untaxed - would the DVLA automatically set it to be sorned? Would this be clear on the check vehicle website - as said, showing untaxed. 

It still has 2 months on MOT. 

By just taxing it again, would this then be OK for people to test drive it. 

I also assume it would need insuring, if not already.

My head's in a pickle l, never mind hers. 

Anybody who may have been in the same boat or know of anything then please share. Thanks in advance.

Alderbank

Being the legal owner, and being the registered keeper (RK), are separate.

DVLA do not 'appoint' the RK. Your M-I-L needs to apply if she wishes to become the RK.
DVLA do not SORN vehicles either. The RK needs to apply for SORN. The RK must make a declaration that the vehicle is off-road and they will not allow it to be on the road without tax and insurance.

This Govt. page will be useful to you:
https://www.gov.uk/tell-dvla-about-bereavement/keeping-the-vehicle

Brie

As I understand it even having it taxed and MOT'd don't mean it can be driven anywhere.  It needs to be insured.  And you might need to insure it for anyone to drive so that potential buyers can test drive.  The alternative might be to sell to a "we buy any" type company but they tend to offer very low prices or so I've heard.

edited to add:  if the car is reasonably new and in good condition you might try the local dealership in case they are interested.  Used cars have been hard to get in the last couple of years - my OH was offered a higher price for his from the same dealership he bought it from 4 years back.  On the other hand if it was a cherished classic there might be some interest in some used car club - I expect a google might turn something up.

Keep_pedalling

Allowing a private buyer to test drive a car would be foolish as they are unlikely to be insured to take it on the road. The simplest solution’ once you have the RK sorted and have the car SORNed is to sell via somewhere like Motorway. You may not get the absolute best price but you a solid a lot of hassle and they collect the car so you don't have to worry about insurence. 

This is really a job the your FIL’s executor to sort out.

Flugelhorn

I am nit sure that tell us once changes car ownership, just the licence

Keep_pedalling

Flugelhorn said:

I am nit sure that tell us once changes car ownership, just the licence

It doesn’t, the DVLA have no idea who the new RK is, or if the car is to be SORN or not until someone tells them. 

Mildly_Miffed

Markie11 said:

My late Father in law passed in January this year. Following his death, my mother in law filled out the 'tell us once' government form, including update DVLA. This would have been for his car and his licence.

NEVER assume "tell us once" does everything right. It doesn't.

The car and all assets, according to will is now hers. She is now looking to sell the car privately but a number of questions around this.

Does she legally own it now?

Yes.

Anyway to check this online.

No, because ownership is not recorded anywhere. The V5C is quite clear that it is not proof of ownership.

VERY few things in our lives have ownership recorded centrally anywhere official - company shares and houses/land and that's about it.

I assume she would have been sent a v5 with new keeper details but unsure.

Look at https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ What's the date of issue of the last V5C?

The car is currently showing untaxed - would the DVLA automatically set it to be sorned? Would this be clear on the check vehicle website - as said, showing untaxed.

No, it wouldn't be. If Vehicle Enquiry says "unlicenced", then it's not SORNed. It'd say SORNed.
DVLA will not automatically cancel the tax - because somebody may be using the car.

It's the keeper's legal responsibility. When the keeper dies, it's the legal responsibility of the executor of their estate to act in their place. They need to transfer keepership AND ensure it's taxed or SORNed, just the same as any other car.

By just taxing it again, would this then be OK for people to test drive it. 

I also assume it would need insuring, if not already.

EVERY car that's taxed has to be insured at all times, or the keeper will be fined. Check at https://www.askmid.com/

And, yes, anybody driving it - whether you, your MiL, a potential buyer - needs to be insured to do so.

My head's in a pickle l, never mind hers.

This is likely to be the easiest bit of wrapping his estate up...

The executor needs to talk to DVLA's "sensitive cases" team.
Sensitive Casework Team, DVLA, Swansea SA99 1ZZ

If the car has any kind of non-trivial value, then just flog it to one of the big buyer outfits - WBAC, Motorway, whoever.
Take a small value hit (which may even be less than the cost of insuring and taxing it), and avoid all the hassle of trying to sell it privately.

Car_54

Markie11 said:

My late Father in law passed in January this year. Following his death, my mother in law filled out the 'tell us once' government form, including update DVLA. This would have been for his car and his licence.

The car and all assets, according to will is now hers.

Does she need probate?

Keep_pedalling

Car_54 said:

Markie11 said:

My late Father in law passed in January this year. Following his death, my mother in law filled out the 'tell us once' government form, including update DVLA. This would have been for his car and his licence.

The car and all assets, according to will is now hers.

Does she need probate?

Even if probate is required for some part of the estate it wont be needed to sell the car. 

p00hsticks

I've found dealing with a deceased persons' car to be a right pain - there have been a few threads on it over on the 'Death, funerals and Probate' board. The most recent one is here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6606143/selling-bereaved-persons-car/p1

Markie11

Mildly_Miffed said:

Markie11 said:

My late Father in law passed in January this year. Following his death, my mother in law filled out the 'tell us once' government form, including update DVLA. This would have been for his car and his licence.

NEVER assume "tell us once" does everything right. It doesn't.

The car and all assets, according to will is now hers. She is now looking to sell the car privately but a number of questions around this.

Does she legally own it now?

Yes.

Anyway to check this online.

No, because ownership is not recorded anywhere. The V5C is quite clear that it is not proof of ownership.

VERY few things in our lives have ownership recorded centrally anywhere official - company shares and houses/land and that's about it.

I assume she would have been sent a v5 with new keeper details but unsure.

Look at https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ What's the date of issue of the last V5C?

The car is currently showing untaxed - would the DVLA automatically set it to be sorned? Would this be clear on the check vehicle website - as said, showing untaxed.

No, it wouldn't be. If Vehicle Enquiry says "unlicenced", then it's not SORNed. It'd say SORNed.
DVLA will not automatically cancel the tax - because somebody may be using the car.

It's the keeper's legal responsibility. When the keeper dies, it's the legal responsibility of the executor of their estate to act in their place. They need to transfer keepership AND ensure it's taxed or SORNed, just the same as any other car.

By just taxing it again, would this then be OK for people to test drive it. 

I also assume it would need insuring, if not already.

EVERY car that's taxed has to be insured at all times, or the keeper will be fined. Check at https://www.askmid.com/

And, yes, anybody driving it - whether you, your MiL, a potential buyer - needs to be insured to do so.

My head's in a pickle l, never mind hers.

This is likely to be the easiest bit of wrapping his estate up...

The executor needs to talk to DVLA's "sensitive cases" team.
Sensitive Casework Team, DVLA, Swansea SA99 1ZZ

If the car has any kind of non-trivial value, then just flog it to one of the big buyer outfits - WBAC, Motorway, whoever.
Take a small value hit (which may even be less than the cost of insuring and taxing it), and avoid all the hassle of trying to sell it privately.

Thank you very much