Do you have a plan for who will get your vehicle if something happens to you? In California, someone who is eligible to take over the title of your vehicle may have to jump through some hoops to get it. It’s smart to think about how you can take some steps now to make asset transfer easier for your beneficiaries in the future.
When you pass away, your assets must be distributed among your loved ones after debts and taxes have been taken care of, but this often creates many questions about the best way to transfer on these assets.
Much like real estate, stock and bond accounts, and other assets, you may have specific plans for a vehicle in your estate. Vehicles should be addressed in your estate plan like any other personal property; however, you may have additional options available to you and your estate plan because a vehicle has a title. You may choose for example, to add transfer on death language to the title of the vehicle, which allows the beneficiary to go to the DMV with a death certificate to get the title transferred to themselves without having to go through probate.
You can also fund a vehicle into a trust which has benefits these days due to the rising costs of both new and used vehicles. If you do not actually have the title to the vehicle, there is very little you can do than include the vehicle in the testamentary section of your trust or will.
Discuss your various options with an estate planning lawyer in Pasadena to decide what’s most appropriate for your needs. We can help you craft a plan for all your major assets.
