Two ways to change title to a car without Oklahoma probate

Image provided by Flickr user Keith Ellwood

Image provided by Flickr user Keith Ellwood

Would you like to know two ways you can change the title to a car owned by a person who died, without going through an Oklahoma probate?

If your answer is “yes”, you have found the right post. 🙂

I have written volumes on this blog about Oklahoma estate planning and a lesser amount about addressing the situation where someone died without doing estate planning.  I would like to provide a few cleanup tools that can be used to avoid probate even after someone didn’t do Oklahoma estate planning.

There are two options that may apply for changing the title to a car owned by someone who died without going through Oklahoma probate.

  1. Oklahoma No Administrator Affidavit.

My experience has been that most tag agents will transfer title to the vehicle following a person’s death when the No Administrator Affidavit is provided.  I wrote about this Affidavit in this blog post.  This document will generally allow the title to a car to be transferred if:

  • A properly completed No Administrator Affidavit is provided;
  • A certified copy of the death certificate is provided; and
  • The facts are such that the person asking for the change in title (ostensibly to themselves) has a clear right to receive the vehicle.

  1. Oklahoma Small Estate Affidavit.

The other option is the Oklahoma Tax Commission’s Small Estate Affidavit.  This document is used to transfer the ownership of a vehicle when:

  • The car is given to someone in a last will and testament,
  • The total value of the estate is not greater than $50,000.00, and
  • The person who is given the car in the last will and testament must sign the Oklahoma Small Estate Affidavit.

 

There are no guarantees of course; sometimes, even when you think you have done everything correctly, the transfer of title still doesn’t happen.  If you run into this type of issue, give me a call or an email.

Posted by Shawn Roberts

On this blog, I write about and try to answer practical Oklahoma legal questions. My focus and most experience is in estate planning and business issues including Oklahoma non-compete law. I make a living as an attorney in the law firm I founded, Shawn J. Roberts, P.C. in Oklahoma City. I live in Edmond with my wife Amy and my two children, Sam (19) and David (11). We live precisely in the path of where the "wind comes sweeping down the plains."