Is a Note Valid to Give Ownership of a Deceased's Vehicle if There is No Will?
Full Question:
Answer:
It sounds as if he intended to make a gift of the vehicles but failed to complete delivery of the gift by transferring the title. If the title remained in his name when he died, it will likely have to go through probate to have the title transferred to you if he didn’t have a will.
Typically, when a gift is delivered by the donor (gift giver) and accepted by the donee (receiver of the gift), the donor has given up rights of ownership and the donee is the new owner. In order to prove a gift was made, there needs to be a completed delivery by the donor and acceptance by the donee.
In Florida, where the value of the entire assets of the estate does not exceed the value of which does not exceed the sum of the amount of preferred funeral expenses and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness, a small estate may be administered by a small estate affidavit. After the affidavit has been approved by the court, the affidavit may be used to collect debts owed to the decedent.
The affidavit is filed with the clerk of the court in the county where the deceased resided. It lists certain information required by statutes, such as all of the known assets and liabilities of the estate, the names and addresses of the distributees, and the relevant family history or other facts concerning heirship that show the distributees' rights to receive the money or property of the estate.
If the estate is worth more than the medical and funeral expenses, but not more than $60,000, and in an intestate estate, the heirs at law of the decedent consist solely of a surviving spouse, lineal descendants, and lineal ascendants, it is possible for a summary procedure to be used rather than formal probate.