Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Hampshire
Tangible property outside Trust
Deceased father had Trust and Will established. Will originally filed ''no-Probate''. One piece of tangible property (automobile) was discovered titled only in his name, not the Trust. My brother and I (co-Trustees/Executors) are confused on what comes next. We have been clearing items (bills, stocks, etc) in/out of the Trust as Trustees no problem. Does the Will now need to be executed in Probate to gain ownership? And, who will be owners...us as joint owners, or do we sell/gift it into the Trust to then be dealt with (sold) as Trustees?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Tangible property outside Trust
In order to properly answer your question a review of the will and trust would be required. Assuming the will passes the car to the Trust, you would need to probate the will and then transfer the car or sell the car and pay the proceeds to the Trust.
However, if the car was a "family purpose vehicle" and one or more family members (other than your father) resided in the same household and commonly used the car, there may be another option for transfer of ownership.
Lastly, if the value of the car is not great, you may qualify for more streamlined probate procedure for small estates. I suggest that meeting with an attorney would probably be the best way to get all the facts on the table and find the right method to address this matter.
Re: Tangible property outside Trust
From my experience, the small estate probate is the easiest route to go. The Executor can sell the car or re-title it, if you and your brother can agree and one of you wants to keep it.
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