Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
probate
my grandmother died and had a vehicle that i have been using,she left her estate to me and everything is in probate. my grandmother's son was her power of attorney and knew i had been using her vehicle(especially because i had been caring for her as well) he had her insurance policy canceled and i reinstated it. he mailed a letter to the insurance agent stating that he wants the car taken off the road and that i did not have permission to use the vehicle and if i tried to reinstate the policy he would contact the legal authorities and get me in trouble with the police and the dmv. well, i am executor over her estate and i have the title to the car, can i put the car in my name or keep the car in my grandmothers name?also does he legally have the right to do this? please give me a little insight in this!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: probate
Once your grandmother died, her power of attorney to your grandmothr's sone ended. You should hire an attorney to probate her will,and you can then legally transfer the car to you as you are the sole beneficiary. You cannot keep the car in your grandmother's name as she is now deceased. There are insurance consequences, and if there is an accident and the car is in your grandmother's name and she is deceased this could mean that the insurance company will decline coverage.
In any event, a good estate lawyer can handle the matter with little effort and cost.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.
Re: probate
If you are Executor, you should promptly probate the Will, get evidence of your authority so you can re-title the car into your name and obtain insurance. While you have inherited the car, nothing is truly legal until it is re-titled. As an aside, the POA in favor of her son is no longer effective as it automatically terminates upon the death of the Maker. Be sure he has not acted under it after the date of death, and, in your capacity as Executor, verify that anything he did under the POA complies with the Will. If necessary, have him account to you for any action he took prior to your granmother's death