Car sale after death

[ali_kat]

Afternoon all

My Uncle died on Boxing Day.

The V5 is in his name, car insurance in joint names with his wife.

She has decided she no longer wants a car. She's 86 and hates driving now.

Do we need to transfer the V5 to her name to sell it?

If so, will this affect the tax? I.e. Under the new r&r will she have to retax the car in her name just to sell it?

Do we bother telling the insurance, or just wait & cancel the policy?

Many thanks!

[anonymous-user]

Won't you need to get probate before you can sell anything?

Other than that if you can park it off the road why not sorn it now?

Tell the insurance company and see if they will provide laid up cover only if you want to be protected in the event of fire/theft?

[TooMany2cvs]

ali_kat said:

Do we need to transfer the V5 to her name to sell it?

No.

ali_kat said:

Do we bother telling the insurance, or just wait & cancel the policy?

If she won't be driving it...

Is she going to WBAC it? I guess she's not going to want to deal with a private sale. Or are you going to be doing it?

[ali_kat]

Thank you

It will either be WBAC or private sale via FB that I would deal with for her.

It's a 56 Nissan Micra, with 6500 on the clock and a slight dent in the passenger wing; not worth a lot, but a good learner car.

[ali_kat]

desolate said:

Won't you need to get probate before you can sell anything?

Other than that if you can park it off the road why not sorn it now?

Tell the insurance company and see if they will provide laid up cover only if you want to be protected in the event of fire/theft?

I don't believe so wrt probate.

Because no one would be able to test drive it if it is SORN?

I want it to be as hassle free for my Aunt as possible, she's very bewildered without him (after 66 years!)

[anonymous-user]

ali_kat said:

I don't believe so wrt probate.

Because no one would be able to test drive it if it is SORN?

I want it to be as hassle free for my Aunt as possible, she's very bewildered without him (after 66 years!)

If you can't sorn it then just tell the insurers and I am sure they will keep the policy going. If they try and charge an admin fee tell them to stick it.

I would check in regard to disposal of assets prior to probate. I was told different when my father died recently. But that doesn't mean what I was told was correct.

[bimsb6]

With the v5 not being proof of ownership the car is as much hers as the deceased , just sell it !

[ali_kat]

Everything but the car is in joint names, his Will leaves everything to her.

There should be no problem in selling the car, but there's no rush either.

[mr rusty]

my wifes uncle managed to sign and date the V5 from beyond the grave..............................

[Paul Dishman]

I was my mother's executor and sold her car before getting probate, after checking on PH that if was legal to do so

[ali_kat]

Thanks all

So leave it in his name & don't worry about the tax

I'll remove him from the policy.

[zedstar]

if you eBay it let me know please....

[rambo19]

My dad died last year, he had 2 cars.
I sold both cars and signed the V5 using my dads name.
Both buyers were aware.

[bladebloke]

Assuming there was a will, the executors derive their power from that, technically, so can lawfully deal with all the assets from the date of death. That's for assets that pass under the will though - if it was jointly owned then it has already passed to your aunt by survivorship and she is free to deal with it as she wishes. So either way, it should be fine!

The main reason probate's required is for third parties (e.g. banks, buyers of property) require it as proof of the executors powers. I wouldn't have thought any private buyer of a low value car would be concerned.

[griffgrog]

It's quite straightforward and no signing beyond the grave necessary. The DVLA have a Sensitive Caseworks Team.

See this advice... https://www.gov.uk/tell-dvla-about-bereavement/sel...

A 2006 Micra with 6K on the clock must be worth quite a bit too.

[wildcat45]

mr rusty said:

my wifes uncle managed to sign and date the V5 from beyond the grave..............................

So did my Dad.

[Sheepshanks]

ali_kat said:

... car insurance in joint names with his wife.

Never heard of car insurance being in joint names before.

[Swoxy]

How much do you want and where is the car?

[TooMany2cvs]

Sheepshanks said:

ali_kat said:

... car insurance in joint names with his wife.

Never heard of car insurance being in joint names before.

I've just renewed my everyday car policy. The new policy explicitly says that it covers the policyholder/spouse/partner/dog to be the RK and to be the main driver, even though it actually uses the policyholder's name.

Surprised me a bit, but... Mind you, I was also surprised to see that the premium didn't come down with an extra year's NCB (2yr instead of 1 - long gap between policies in my name, rather than claims history). Still, change from £150.

[motco]

Sorry about your uncle AK I sold my Dad's old Herald when he died some years ago, and unlike a house, there's little to stop you doing it. It had a very desirable registration number (1815 MG) and that was worth far more than any Triumph Herald in any condition at the time. With my sensible hat on I'd have kept the car and plate, transferred it to my wife's car (I had a company car then), and either sold or scrapped the car at my leisure, but as it was within a couple of weeks of needing an MoT and would certainly have need welding to pass, I took the easy route. In any case, having just lost my Dad I wasn't really interested in the hassle of getting it transferred. Daft, probably...