QUESTION

Can I keep making payments from my Moms bank account on her car loan after she has passed?

Asked on Oct 02nd, 2018 on Wills and Probate - Georgia
More details to this question:
I am the sole heir and executor on my Moms will, she passed a few weeks ago and I haven’t gotten death certificates yet. It is in the will that she left all worldly possessions including her vehicle with a loan on it to me, her sole heir. Which I’ve been paying (while she was incapacitated) and once since her passing. Can I just keep making the payments and once it’s paid off get the title put into my name? I can’t qualify for a auto loan on my own and the estate doesn’t have the money to pay off the full amount but I can pay the existing loan. I don’t want it repossessed, but I also don’t want to get into trouble. I’m on the insurance policy also and I noticed my name is on the registration for it also.
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2 ANSWERS

Wills Attorney serving Alpharetta, GA
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Unless you have actually had your mother's Will offered for probate yet, you aren't actually the Executor, so please make sure that you get the Will offered for probate before you do anything with her bank account, the car, or anything else. You do need to keep making payments on the car if you don't want it to be repossessed, but you will need to use your own account to make them, not your mother's account. Once you have had the Will admitted to probate and received your Letters Testamentary from the probate court (at which time you will actually be the Executor), you need to figure out what other assets your mother had and what creditors she had (including the lender on the car loan). You will need to close her bank account and move the money to an estate account that will have a new name (the estate's name) and a new taxpayer id number (which you will need to get for the estate once you've been appointed as Executor). You will need to notify any and all possible creditors of your mother's death. All valid debts will need to be paid in full or otherwise addressed before you can take over any property. You will need to discuss your situation with the lender on the car loan if the loan can't be paid in full right now. They may be willing to let you assume the existing loan and continue making payments on it. However, it will be up to them. You can't just keep paying under your mother's name and not notify them that she has passed away. Before you do anything, I would strongly urge you to get an experienced probate attorney to sit down and review the situation with you, including, but not limited to, the car's registration and other paperwork. If you are on the insurance and the registration, then you may also be on the title already. That may make a big difference as to what happens with the car and how much the lender will be willing to work with you. Best wishes to you, and please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother.
Answered on Oct 03rd, 2018 at 8:51 AM

This answer is being provided as general information and not as legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this answer.

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Probate Litigation Attorney serving Lawrenceville, GA at Robert W. Hughes & Associates, P.C.
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As you are the only heir and beneficiary, no one can object to anything you do.  So long as the creditors are paid according to the contract each has with your mother, there should be no problem.  However, I would file the will for probate and get Letters Testamentary issued to you.  You will then be in a position to transfer the car into your name once the loan is paid off.
Answered on Oct 03rd, 2018 at 6:40 AM

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