Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Buying a car with another person is not a good idea if you are not married. While that was nice of you to pay off the car, the problem is that the car is half his and 1/2 would belong to his estate.

I don't know who drove the car or how much of the loan was your boyfriend's responsibility. The personal representative can sell your boyfriend's half of the car to you. Get the value of the car, take 1/2 and deduct your boyfriend's portion of the loan which you paid. If there is a balance, you will have to pay the executor for it. If there is a negative number then the executor should release the car to you. And you might have a claim against the estate if you paid for more than your fair share of the loan.

Tell me, did your boyfriend make a will? If so, in the will, did he leave the car to you? If that is the case, then maybe you will not have to pay anything for the car, provided that there is enough money in the estate to pay all the other claims if any.

I don't know when your boyfriend passed. Technically, no distribution can be made until all of the claims, if any, come in. That way the personal representative will know if he or she has to sell assets or not. The reason for this is that the personal representative may be personally liable if they start distributing assets and then find out that more money is owed for taxes or something else. The personal representative will then have to ask for money to be returned. No personal representative wants to be in that position.

I also don't know where your boyfriend resided. Is it in PA? If so, there might be inheritance tax owed if you are the beneficiary in the will so that will also have to be added in. I would try and work things out with the personal representative or the attorney for the estate. While you are going to get title to the car from the bank, the bank has no authority to remove your boyfriend's name from the title. So one of you is going to have to sign the title over to the other and it will be cheapest for everybody if you can come to an accomodation. If the personal representative has the car, then he or she has to make sure that there are reasonable precautions taken with the car concerning insurance, especially if someone is driving it. You also want to make sure that the car is not being stored in a barn somewhere and will be in driveable condition when you get it.

If the personal representative is being difficult, then you will have to get your own probate attorney in the county/state where your boyfriend resided at the time of his death. Before you meet with the attorney, get a copy of the court estate file. It is a public record and anyone can view it. See if there is a will, if any. There will be an order granting letters testamentary, if there is a will, or letters of administration, if there is not. An inventory is usually filed within 90 to 120 days of death. If there is an attorney for the estate, their name will appear in the papers as well, so you will know who to contact. It will also tell you what claims have been filed or when the claims period ends so you will know when you can expect distribution.