More details to this question:
My dad passed away recently. Since his estate was so small I didn\'t want to go through probate so I waited the necessary 40 days and transferred his vehicle into my name. I am now the registered legal owner per the dmv. He rented a room from my cousin and that is where the car was parked and the keys were in her home in his room. She has refused to give me the keys or tell me has his car. I tried to file a stolen car report with the police but they said they can\'t file a report because I have no way of proving that he wanted me to have the car and that the dmv doesn\'t force the descendant to go through probate to change title so anyone could claim they were entitled to the car. Is this correct? Do I have any recourse?
1 ANSWER
You have a tough situation. It does not make sense to me that the police would say they can't help. The whole point of doing the non-probate transfer forms is to legally transfer title. By complying with those forms you legally transferred ownership of the car to you. I would encourage you to talk to the police again. You could possibly sue the cousin for the loss but I think your odds of success are low. You have a tough one here. I wish you good luck. -John
Answered on Dec 17th, 2013 at 10:53 AM