Motor vehicles are one of the most overlooked items in estate planning. Often all of a deceased person’s assets are joint, have beneficiary designations or are payable on death to beneficiaries except for a motor vehicle. If the motor vehicle is in the deceased person’s name a probate administration is necessary, unless he or she is survived by a spouse.
If the vehicle is owned by a person and a spouse survives, a surviving spouse can transfer up to two vehicles that are worth less than $40,000 to the surviving spouse without going through probate.
The surviving spouse may take the titles and a death certificate to the county auto title divisions and complete an affidavit to transfer them to the surviving spouse. If more than two vehicles are owned by the deceased spouse or the vehicles owned are over $40,000.00, then the surviving spouse will need to have probate approval to transfer the vehicles.
How can you make the transfer of a motor vehicle to your heirs proceed smoothly? There are two non-probate methods to transfer vehicles to someone other than your spouse. You can either have the vehicle titled as joint with right of survivorship or you can name a transfer on death beneficiary or beneficiaries.
If a vehicle is owned jointly with right of survivorship, it can be transferred to the surviving owner by taking a death certificate and title to the county auto title division. The title document must say WROS. If it just has two or more names and is not noted as WROS it will be considered joint and will require probate. Be careful about joint ownership of assets, it is generally appropriate between spouses but may cause issues if the joint ownership is between other parties. The better alternative might be transfer on death.
Ohio allows vehicles to be held as transfer on death to a beneficiary or beneficiaries. To accomplish this you need to take your title to the Auto Title Division and fill out a form to name the beneficiary or beneficiaries. (BMV 3811 – Affidavit for Designation of Beneficiaries by the Sole Owner for a Motor Vehicle, Watercraft or Outboard Motor Certificate). There is a $15.00 fee associated with this transaction. Upon the death of the owner, the beneficiaries take the title and a death certificate to the BMV to obtain title in his or her name.
Avoiding probate administration for vehicles can save money and time for your heirs. Additionally, assets passing through probate may need to be sold to pay the deceased debts. Passing assets outside of probate can make sure the assets pass to your intended beneficiaries.
Take some time and determine what is the best way to handle the ownership of your vehicles, your loved ones will thank you.
