Can I get the title to the car abandoned on my property five months ago in Virginia?
Full Question:
My friend bought my car a few months ago. He paid me the money but never really took the car from my house. I sold the car to him 5 months ago. Can I get the title of the car back presuming the car to be abandoned?
04/19/2017 |
Category: Abandoned Pr... ยป Vehicles |
State: Virginia |
#35903
Answer:
Generally, a car’s title can be obtained by operation of law. However, in this case as the car is an abandoned one, so if you wish to get the title of the abandoned car you can post a notice for a minimum of 21 days telling that want to auction the car. This notice is to be posted be in an electronic manner. If the Department of Motor Vehicles confirms the lien then you can inform the lien holder of the car the date the sale of the car will be conducted. This has to be done ten days before the sale. This way you can get the title of the car in the auction.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-633:
Transfer of title by operation of law
A. Except as otherwise provided in § 46.2-615 in the event of the transfer by operation of law of the title or interest of an owner in and to a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer registered under the provisions of this chapter to anyone as legatee or distributee or as surviving joint owner or by an order in bankruptcy or insolvency, execution sale, sales as provided for in § 46.2-644.03, repossession on default in the performing of the terms of a lease or executory sales contract or of any written agreement ratified or incorporated in a decree or order of a court of record, or otherwise than by the voluntary act of the person whose title or interest is so transferred, the transferee or his legal representative shall apply to the Department for a certificate of title, giving the name and address of the person entitled to it, and accompany his application with the registration card and certificate of title previously issued for the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer, if available, together with whatever instruments or documents of authority, or certified copies of them, are required by law to evidence or effect a transfer of title or interest in or to chattels in the case. The Department shall cancel the registration of the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer and issue a new certificate of title to the person entitled to it.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, if a title is presented from a state other than the Commonwealth, the Department shall, upon presentation of the title and a form prescribed by the Commissioner attesting to the lawful repossession of the vehicle and the intent to offer the vehicle for sale in the Commonwealth, issue a new certificate of title to the person entitled to it and request the state in which the vehicle is titled to cancel the title. Nothing in this subsection, however, shall be construed to require the presentation of a title from a state other than the Commonwealth if the vehicle is not required to be titled by the laws of that other state.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-632:
Transfer when certificate of title lost
A. Whenever the applicant for the registration of a motor vehicle, manufactured home, trailer, or semitrailer or a new certificate of title is unable to present a certificate of title because the certificate has been lost or unlawfully detained by one in possession of it or whenever the certificate of title is otherwise not available, the Department may receive the application and investigate the circumstances of the case and may require the filing of affidavits or other information. When the Department is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to the title, it may register the motor vehicle, manufactured home, trailer, or semitrailer and issue a new registration card, license plate, or plates and certificate of title to the person entitled to it.
B. Whenever the insurance company or its agent makes application for a certificate of title to a vehicle that is not a salvage vehicle as defined in § 46.2-1600 and is unable to present a certificate of title, the Department may receive the application along with an affidavit indicating that the vehicle was acquired as the result of the claims process and describing the efforts made by the insurance company or its agent to obtain the certificate of title from the previous owner. When the Department is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to the title, it may issue a certificate of title to the person entitled to it. The Commissioner may charge a fee of $ 25 for the expense of processing an application under this subsection that is accompanied by an affidavit. Such fee shall be in addition to any other fees and taxes required. All fees collected under the provisions of this subsection shall be paid into the state treasury and set aside as a special fund to be used to meet the expenses of the Department.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-633.2:
Transfer of title on death
A. A motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer may include in the certificate of title a designation of a beneficiary to whom the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer shall be transferred after the death of the owner.
B. A motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer may be titled with a designated beneficiary by applying to the Department for a certificate of title on which is stated the name of the sole owner followed by "transfer on death" or "TOD" and the name of the beneficiary.
C. A certificate of title with a designated beneficiary shall not be issued if (i) the owner is not a natural person; (ii) the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is encumbered by a lien or security interest; or (iii) the owner holds an interest in the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer with another person.
D. During the lifetime of the owner:
1. The beneficiary shall have no interest in the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer and the signature or consent of the beneficiary shall not be required for any transaction; and
2. The certificate of title with the designated beneficiary shall not be issued by the Department or shall be canceled if:
a. The owner files an application for a certificate of title under subsection B to remove or change the beneficiary;
b. The owner sells the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer and delivers the certificate of title to another person; or
c. An application for the recording of a lien or security interest has been filed with the Department for the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer prior to the death of the owner or filed within the time limits in § 46.2-639.
E. Except as provided in this section, the designated beneficiary shall not be changed or revoked by will or any other instrument, by a change in circumstances, or in any other manner.
F. A certificate of title with a designated beneficiary shall not be required to be supported by consideration and need not be delivered to the beneficiary to be effective.
G. Upon the death of the owner and application by the beneficiary, the Department shall issue a new certificate of title in accordance with § 46.2-600 for the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to the beneficiary. The beneficiary must apply for a certificate of title upon submitting proof of the death of the owner and such other documents and information as the Department may reasonably require. If the beneficiary does not survive the owner or does not apply for a certificate of title within 120 days of the death of the owner, the beneficiary or his estate shall have no right to obtain title to the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer under this section. Upon transfer of title to the beneficiary, the Department shall cancel the registration of the deceased owner.
H. Any transfer pursuant to this section shall be subject to any lien or security interest authorized under § 46.2-644, 46.2-644.01, or 46.2-644.02.
I. Any transfer pursuant to this section is not testamentary and shall not be subject to the provisions of Title 64.2.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1200
Definitions
As used in this article:
"Abandoned motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that:
1. Is left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours in violation of a state law or local ordinance, or
2. Has remained for more than 48 hours on private property without the consent of the property's owner, regardless of whether it was brought onto the private property with the consent of the owner or person in control of the private property, or
3. Is left unattended on the shoulder of a primary highway.
"Scrap metal processor" means any person who is engaged in the business of processing motor vehicles into scrap for remelting purposes who, from a fixed location, utilizes machinery and equipment for processing and manufacturing ferrous and nonferrous metallic scrap into prepared grades, and whose principal product is metallic scrap.
"Vehicle removal certificate" means a transferable document issued by the Department for any abandoned motor vehicle that authorizes the removal and destruction of the vehicle.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1200.1 :
Abandoning motor vehicles prohibited; penalty
No person shall cause any motor vehicle to become an abandoned motor vehicle as defined in § 46.2-1200. In any prosecution for a violation of this section, proof that the defendant was, at the time that the vehicle was found abandoned, the owner of the vehicle shall constitute in evidence a rebuttable presumption that the owner was the person who committed the violation. Such presumption, however, shall not arise if the owner of the vehicle provided notice to the Department, as provided in § 46.2-604, that he had sold or otherwise transferred the ownership of the vehicle.
A summons for a violation of this section shall be executed by mailing a copy of the summons by first-class mail to the address of the owner of the vehicle as shown on the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles. If the person fails to appear on the date of return set out in the summons, a new summons shall be issued and delivered to the sheriff of the county, city, or town for service on the accused personally. If the person so served then fails to appear on the date of return set out in the summons, proceedings for contempt shall be instituted.
Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $ 500. If any person fails to pay any such penalty, his privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the highways of the Commonwealth shall be suspended as provided in § 46.2-395.
All penalties collected under this section shall be paid into the state treasury to be credited to the Literary Fund as provided in § 46.2-114.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1200.2 :
Vehicles registered to active duty military personnel
Whenever a vehicle is shown by the Department of Motor Vehicles records to be owned by a person who has indicated that he is on active military duty or service, the Department shall include such information in response to requests for vehicle information pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.
Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter, any person having a lien under the provisions of this chapter shall comply with the provisions of the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.) when disposing of a vehicle owned by a member of the military on active duty or service.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1201:
Ordinances
The governing body of any county, city, or town may provide by ordinance for taking abandoned vehicles into custody and disposing of them in accordance with this article.
Any county, city, or town may take any abandoned motor vehicle into custody. The locality may employ its own personnel, equipment, and facilities or hire persons, equipment, and facilities, or firms or corporations that may be independent contractors for removing, preserving, storing, and selling at public auction abandoned motor vehicles.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1202:
Search for owner and secured party; notice
A. Any person in possession of an abandoned motor vehicle shall initiate with the Department, in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner, a search for the owner and/or lienholder of record of the vehicle, requesting the name and address of the owner of record of the motor vehicle and all persons having security interests in the motor vehicle on record in the office of the Department, describing, if ascertainable, the motor vehicle by year, make, model, and vehicle identification number. A fee of $ 25 shall be paid to the Department at the time of application. Those fees shall be paid into the state treasury and set aside as a special, nonreverting fund to be used to meet the expenses of the Department. A local government agency with a written agreement with the Department shall be exempt from this fee.
The Department shall check: (i) its own records, (ii) the records of a nationally recognized crime database, and (iii) records of a nationally recognized motor vehicle title database for owner and lienholder information. If a vehicle has been reported as stolen, the Department shall notify the appropriate law-enforcement agency of that fact. If a vehicle has been found to have been titled in another jurisdiction, the Department shall notify the applicant of that jurisdiction. In cases of motor vehicles titled in other jurisdictions, the Commissioner shall issue certificates of title on proof satisfactory to the Commissioner that the persons required to be notified by registered or certified mail have received actual notice fully containing the information required by this section.
B. If the Department confirms owner or lienholder information, the Department shall notify the owner, at the last known address of record, and lienholder, at the last known address of record, of the notice of interest in their vehicle, by certified mail, return receipt requested, and advise them to reclaim and remove the vehicle within 15 days, or, if the vehicle is a manufactured home or a mobile home, 120 days, from the date of notice. Such notice, when sent in accordance with these requirements, shall be sufficient regardless of whether or not it was ever received. Following the notice required in this subsection, if the motor vehicle remains unclaimed, the owner and all persons having security interests in the motor vehicle shall have waived all right, title, and interest in the motor vehicle.
Whenever a vehicle is shown by the Department's records to be owned by a person who has indicated that he is on active military duty or service, the Department shall notify the requestor of such information. Any person having an interest in such vehicle under the provisions of this article shall comply with the provisions of the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.).
C. If records of the Department contain no address for the owner or no address of any person shown by the Department's records to have a security interest, or if the identity and addresses of the owner and all persons having security interests cannot be determined with reasonable certainty, the person in possession of the abandoned motor vehicle shall obtain from the Department in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner, a Vehicle Removal Certificate. The vehicle may be sold or transferred to a licensee or a scrap metal processor, as defined in § 46.2-1600.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1202.1:
Vehicle Removal Certificates
The person in possession of an abandoned motor vehicle shall obtain from the Department in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner, a Vehicle Removal Certificate at no fee. The vehicle may be sold or transferred to a licensee or a scrap metal processor, as defined in § 46.2-1600.
If the person in possession of an abandoned motor vehicle desires to obtain title to the vehicle, that person shall post notice for at least 21 days of his intent to auction the motor vehicle. Postings of intent shall be in an electronic manner prescribed by the Commissioner who shall also ensure that written notice of intent is provided in public locations throughout the Commonwealth. If the Department confirms a lien, the person proposing the sale of the motor vehicle shall notify the lienholder of record, by certified mail, at the address on the certificate of title of the time and place of the proposed sale 10 days prior thereto.
A purchaser of the motor vehicle may apply for a title upon payment of the applicable fees and taxes, and by supplying the Department with the completed Vehicle Removal Certificate and the transcript from the Department that indicates that the Department has no record of the abandoned motor vehicle.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1203
Sale of vehicle at public auction; disposition of proceeds
If an abandoned motor vehicle is not reclaimed as provided for in § 46.2-1202, the locality or its authorized agent shall, notwithstanding the provisions of § 46.2-617, sell it at public auction. For the purposes of this article, the term "public auction," when conducted by any county, city, or town, shall include an Internet sale by auction. The purchaser of the motor vehicle shall take title to the motor vehicle free of all liens and claims of ownership of others, shall receive a sales receipt from the sale, and shall be entitled to apply to and receive from the Department a certificate of title and registration card for the vehicle. The sales receipt from the sale shall be sufficient title only for purposes of transferring the vehicle to a demolisher for demolition, wrecking, or dismantling, and in that case no further titling of the vehicle shall be necessary; however, such demolisher shall provide the Department acceptable documentation indicating that the vehicle has been demolished. From the proceeds of the sale of an abandoned motor vehicle the locality or its authorized agent shall reimburse itself for the expenses of the auction, the cost of towing, preserving, and storing the vehicle which resulted from placing the abandoned motor vehicle in custody, and all notice and publication costs incurred pursuant to § 46.2-1202. Any remainder from the proceeds of a sale shall be held for the owner of the abandoned motor vehicle or any person having security interests in the vehicle, as their interests may appear, for 60 days, and then be deposited into the treasury of the locality in which the abandoned motor vehicle was abandoned.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1205
Disposition of inoperable abandoned vehicles
A. For the purposes of this section, "demolisher" has the meaning ascribed to it in § 46.2-1600.
B. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, any inoperable motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or part of a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which has been taken into custody pursuant to other provisions of this article may be disposed of to a demolisher, without the title and without the notification procedures, by the person or locality on whose property or in whose possession the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is found. Such demolisher shall be properly licensed under the provisions of Chapter 16 (§ 46.2-1600 et seq.). The demolisher, on taking custody of the inoperable abandoned motor vehicle, shall notify the Department on forms and in the manner prescribed by the Commissioner. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no other report or notice shall be required in this instance.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1206
Surrender of certificate of title, etc., where motor vehicle acquired for demolition; records to be kept by demolisher or scrap metal processor
No demolisher or scrap metal processor who purchases or otherwise acquires a motor vehicle for wrecking, dismantling, or demolition shall be required to obtain a certificate of title for the motor vehicle in his own name. After the motor vehicle has been demolished, processed, or changed so that it physically is no longer a motor vehicle, the demolisher or scrap metal processor shall surrender to the Department for cancellation the certificate of title, Vehicle Removal Certificate, properly executed vehicle disposition history, or sales receipt from a foreign jurisdiction for the vehicle. The Department shall issue the appropriate forms for the surrender of sales receipts, certificates of title, vehicle disposition histories, and vehicle removal certificates.
Demolishers and scrap metal processors shall keep accurate and complete records, in accordance with § 46.2-1608, of all motor vehicles purchased or received by them in the course of their business. Demolishers and scrap metal processors shall also collect and verify:
1. The towing company's name;
2. One of the ownership or possession documents set out in this section following verification of its accuracy;
3. The driver's license of the person delivering the motor vehicle; and
4. The license plate number of the vehicle that delivered the motor vehicle or scrap.
In addition, a photocopy or electronic copy of the appropriate ownership document or a Vehicle Removal Certificate presented by the customer shall be maintained. Ownership documents shall consist of either a motor vehicle title or a sales receipt from a foreign jurisdiction or a vehicle disposition history. These records shall be maintained in a permanent ledger in a manner acceptable to the Department at the place of business or at another readily accessible and secure location within the Commonwealth for at least five years. The personal identifying information contained within these records shall be protected from unauthorized disclosure through the ultimate destruction of the information. Disclosure of personal identifying information by anyone other than the Department is subject to the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq.).
If requested by a law-enforcement officer, a licensee shall make available, during regular business hours, a report of all the purchases of motor vehicles. Each report shall include the information set out in this chapter and be available electronically or in an agreed-upon format. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or who falsifies any of the information required to be maintained by this article shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor for the first offense. Any licensee or scrap metal processor who is found guilty of second or subsequent violations shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The Department shall also assess a civil penalty not to exceed $ 500 for the first offense and $ 1,000 for the second and subsequent offenses. Those penalties shall be paid into the state treasury and set aside as a special fund to be used to meet the expenses of the Department.
If the vehicle identification number has been altered, is missing, or appears to have been otherwise tampered with, the demolisher or scrap metal processor shall take no further action with regard to the vehicle except to safeguard it in its then-existing condition and shall promptly notify the Department. The Department shall, after an investigation has been made, notify the demolisher or scrap metal processor whether the motor vehicle can be freed from this limitation. In no event shall the motor vehicle be disassembled, demolished, processed, or otherwise modified or removed prior to authorization by the Department. If the vehicle is a motorcycle, the demolisher or scrap metal processor shall cause to be noted on the title or salvage certificate, certifying on the face of the document, in addition to the above requirements, the frame number of the motorcycle and motor number, if available.
Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-1207 :
Certification of disposal; reimbursement of locality by Commissioner
On certification by a locality on forms provided by the Department that an inoperable abandoned motor vehicle left on property within the locality has been disposed of as provided in § 46.2-1205 or that an inoperable motor vehicle has been removed from the vehicle owner's property and disposed of by the locality or its authorized agent, the Commissioner shall reimburse the locality fifty dollars for each such motor vehicle disposed of at the expense of the locality. These reimbursements shall be made from appropriations made in the general appropriations act. In the event the appropriation is insufficient to satisfy requests for reimbursement, payments shall be made in chronological order on the basis of the date on which the requests were received. No payments, however, shall be made for requests received on any date until adequate funds are available to pay all requests received on that date. The Commissioner may promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. These regulations shall include the requirement of the identification number or motor number of the vehicle for which reimbursement is applied, or an acceptable reason why that number is not furnished.
No reimbursement shall be made to any locality for vehicles which it acquires from sources outside its jurisdiction nor for vehicles it receives from dealers engaged in the business of dismantling used automobiles.