beneficiaries - how do they work

[bobbee25]

How do beneficiaries work on non financial assets.

I assume that with financial assets you provide a death certificate and thats its. But how about other assets, ie. house, car etc


In your will they are given to xyz. How does xyz handle it.


a. xyz wants to sell the car, does he go to the motor vehicle dept show the will and have ownership changed ?


b. Similarly with the house, bring the will to the town mortgage department and have it rewritten ?

 

[Andre1969]

It may vary by jurisdiction, but in Maryland, I believe you have to go to the Register of Wills at the courhouse, show them a death certificate, and the will, and they will give you something called a "Letters of Administration." It's a piece of paper that states you have the authority to handle/dispose of the estate.

For any vehicles, I believe you'd have to take the "Letters of Administration" (Dunno why it's called "Letters," as I recall it's just one page) to the DMV, and most likely that along with the death certificate, and whatever vehicle paperwork is needed (Title, registration, etc?)

As for a house, it's probably more complicated than that, especially if it has a mortgage. At least, I remember a lawyer telling me that you cannot inherit a mortgage. If a piece of property has a mortgage on it, that has to be paid off by the estate of the deceased. However, that may also vary by jurisdiction, and I'm sure there's more to it than that. That was also about 9 years ago that the lawyer told me that, so things may have changed.

Anything else, that doesn't have a title to it, such as furniture, clothing, etc, you can probably just take without getting the courts involved, unless it's valuable, high-dollar stuff that's been appraised, perhaps?

 

[MarieIG]

It probably varies from state to state - but in NY you would not go around toting a copy of a will.

You would file the will if there was one with Surrogate's Court, along with a petition for probate and supporting documentation and after the court is satisfied, it would issue letters testamentary authorizing the executor/ executrix with the authority to transfer certain assets. Letters of administration are issued to those estates wherein the decedent did not have a will. (Due to an inability to agree and discuss the matter calmly neither of my parents had wills. As they were married to each other, I was their only child, and had some familiarity with the system, I knew I would be able to get letters quickly when the time came.)

Regarding physical assets, it would depend upon how they are held. For example, the deed on the house may provide for the transfer upon death of the owner / joint-owner. With regard to the car, your state may have a procedure for transferring vehicles without the need for probate.

When my second parent passed the deed on their house was re-written - and The Administratrix of the Estate(s) (me) transferred the house to the sole beneficiary of the estate (me). That deed was then filed in the office of the County Clerk (for a fee).

 

[OldShooter]

Basically, AFIK the Executor of the estate steps into the place of the decedent. Transfer of an asset to a beneficiary may be as simple as the Executor handing the asset (jewelry, for example) to the beneficiary. Assets with bureaucratic adhesions like boats and cars are transferred via the usual departments and real estate is transferred via the usual closing ceremonies with the result recorded with the county.

 

[Finance Dave]

a. xyz wants to sell the car, does he go to the motor vehicle dept show the will and have ownership changed ?

In Indiana where I live, the state has an optional TOD option on the car title. We titled the cars in my name, and put her as the TOD. If I pass, she goes to the DMV with a death certificate (not sure if she would need an original or a copy), and get's the title changed to however she wants (either a new TOD or no beneficiary).

We therefore did not make any mention of the car in our will. It's my understanding that items with beneficiaries should not be included in a will, as the beneficiary stated on the account would supercede.

 

[GravitySucks]

I suggest calling your county clerk and/or Surrogates Court.
My county sent me both very detailed instructions on what must be done plus a helpful list of things to consider.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[pb4uski]

How do beneficiaries work on non financial assets.

I assume that with financial assets you provide a death certificate and thats its. But how about other assets, ie. house, car etc


In your will they are given to xyz. How does xyz handle it.


a. xyz wants to sell the car, does he go to the motor vehicle dept show the will and have ownership changed ?


b. Similarly with the house, bring the will to the town mortgage department and have it rewritten ?

For our Florida registered car, our lawyer told us that if our heir went to DMV with a death certificate and a copy of the will that they could then transfer title to the heir. That seems to be the case.

... The beneficiary would go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), ask to transfer a car's title, and submit a copy of the HSMV Form 82040, a copy of the death certificate and a copy of the will, if one exists. ,,,

I think that is typical but am sure that it varies a bit from state to state. Vermont has a form that the owner can file while they are alive that functions like a beneficiary designation.

For a house, I would think you would need to go through probate unless you fell under the small estate limit.

 

[badatmath]

I have deeds on the house and car that list beneficiaries but this is probably not a thing in all states.

 

[RetireBy90]

I have deeds on the house and car that list beneficiaries but this is probably not a thing in all states.

We did Transfet On Death (TOD) for real estate in Nevada and Virginia. Nevada, Washoe County, said a form with the death certificate was all needed.

 

[PatrickA5]

Transfer on Death Deeds work well in my state. Dad had one. All we had to do was sign an affidavit and supply the death certificate. We had the house sold less than a month after his death. Probably worked as well as a Trust.

We have one for our current house.

 

[Sunset]

Approximately 10 years ago, IL changed the law to allow TOD on real estate.

Prior to that a lot of people used land trusts to perform the same thing. Many still do as it's not publicized about the TOD option.