Car available from an estate

[Chinski]

I have found a car that is available from a daughter from her deseased father.The car will require commisioning etc as its been off the road for a couple of years. The real question is one of which what needs to be done legally and with the dvla to confirm that both the current owner can sell and the new owner doesn't have any surprises down the line.

Has anyone had a similar experience or a view on this one?

Thanks in advance.

[ChrisLD364]

Hi

Did this recently for my uncles's estate. Do bear in mind that a V5 is no longer a document of title so if it's in the deceased name that doesn't mean that he owned it and hadn't already sold it.........

Any asset of the estate should be dealt with in accordance with any will. That is actioned by the executors who are appointed when they get probate. That can take months. Legally that's the point when items can be sold and there'd then never be comeback.

However practice will often be very different. Often there isn't a will and there is a different way to deal with the estate. What happens then depends on how big the estate is.

Also in practice the next of kin will simply dispose of assets with there being no paper trail - however there is for a car.

So in my opinion, if you want to be absolutely sure, make sure it's sold by the executors. If you do anything else any comeback would only be if it wasn't sold at its value or the money went to someone who wasn't entitled to it.

All this my opinion only.

[GDPR]

Sounds pretty much spot on advice to me

[jakesmig]

As long as the executor is aware and agrees to its disposal, the daughter, assuming she is an inheritor, can do what she likes with it, as long a a realistic value is allowed in the assets of the will. Realistic value is down to interpretation, doubt if HMRC will bother checking out a 40year old motor so a 15K concourse car could be a £500.00 parts bin for all they know.
Doesn't matter either way to the DVLA.

John

[sjm]

Thought he left it to me!!