Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Louisiana

Re: Co-Signer on a Car

Dear LawGuru Friend,

When you call your deceased grandmother the "co-signer", I assume also that the vehicle is registered in her name, or hers and someone else's, perhaps yours. If the car loan that she co-signed on remains unpaid, you will not be able to obtain the Certificate of Title until the finance company/fianancer surrenders it to you or whoever the named title holder or holders may be. If your grandmother left a will, that has to be considered, whether or not she left any interest in the car to anybody. If so, the will would have to be probated and the legatee under the will placed into possession of the grandmother's interest in the car. If no will, then the State of Louisiana, Office of Motor Vehicles has a Form they will supply you whereby all the decedent's (your grandmother's) heirs will be set forth, and then each such heir can then sign over his or her interest in the car to whomever they elect. I am making it sound complicated, but it is really not very complicated. The reason my response may sound complicated is that I am having to assume facts that do not appear in the body of your question. As a practical matter, if you will call the Department of Motor Vehicles, they will give you the forms you need to put the car in whosever name it is supposed to be registered in following the grandmother's death. Feel free to call me or any lawyer for free advice over the phone. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, Atty.

Lake Charles, LA