Who Gets Your Car When You Move On?

[Bingster]

My wife and I were talking about who'd get my Desoto when I'm gone.  My daughter is 23 and a wonderful girl, but I don't think she or her husband knows the upkeep of an old classic. Or what this kind of car means to one of us who restore them.

 

I'd rather have it in my will to have the car sold to a car guy and just give her the money, or my wife if I go first.

 

I'm sixty one, and if I live twenty more years, a restored '47 Desoto four-door sedan should be worth a chunk of change.

 

So where are your cars going? You don't have to get personal.

[kented]

My unborn son or daughter haha! Currently 26 with a girlfriend but by the time they can drive maybe all cars will be electric    

[plymouthcranbrook]

My 37 year old daughter wants both my Plymouths. None of the others care a whit about them. Gonna have to have driving lessons for the 52 soon though.

[austinsailor]

My 40 Dodge came from my son, who bought it 12 years ago but had no idea how to fix it. I have the title set to TOD (transfer on death) to him. He now appreciates it a lot. Unfortunately for him, it'll be really old and a long time before he gets it.

[greg g]

Dunno! Probably offer it up here, then auction if no bites. Anybody wanna pre purchase it?

[Oldguy48]

Well, my wife is co-owner, but a few months ago, my 10 year old grandson asked me if he could have my car when I died. How do you respond to a question like that? Since my wife has little interest in our Plymouth, and has never even driven it, I would be pleased if my grandson became the Plymouth's new owner. I would really like the Plymouth to remain a member of the family.

Wayne

[Jerry Roberts]

I hope to sell mine when it isn't feasible for me to drive it anymore . Cash is a lot easier to transfer to my heirs .  

[austinsailor]

I hope to sell mine when it isn't feasible for me to drive it anymore . Cash is a lot easier to transfer to my heirs .  

Not necesarily. Some states have it set up where it automatically goes to who you want. No court, no paperwork to mess with, very simple transfer. No contesting!

[pflaming]

Phoenix, my B3b, goes to my very artistic daughter in Indianapolis, Indiana. I want to drive it out to her in a couple more years. She loves the fire patina, will look good at her work place, the Art Institute if Indiana.

[soth122003]

WHAT???? Give MY car to those money grubbing turds called family? NEVER I SAY!!! If one of them wants it he or she better start kissing my A$$ now and then wait on me hand and foot until deaths door opens for me..... Wait a minute, I was thinking of the movie Grand Torino.

 

I'll probably will it to my grandson. he's a smart little fella at 4 years old. So by the time I kick it he should be in his late 60's early 70's.

Did I mention I plan on living to be 125.

 

If you smiled at this post, I just added some time to your life. Remember whoever lives the longest wins the game and laughter is the best medicine.

 

Joe

Edited February 15, 2015 by soth122003

[BobT-47P15]

I'm currently planning on giving the convert to my son-in-law and daughter........since he is a car guy and also knows

how to work on them.   He did the body, paint and interior on it after the tornado.  If for any reason, he can't work on

it, or doesn't want it.... they can sell it if they wish.    

[timkingsbury]

My wife and I were talking about who'd get my Desoto when I'm gone.  My daughter is 23 and a wonderful girl, but I don't think she or her husband knows the upkeep of an old classic. Or what this kind of car means to one of us who restore them.

 

I'd rather have it in my will to have the car sold to a car guy and just give her the money, or my wife if I go first.

 

I'm sixty one, and if I live twenty more years, a restored '47 Desoto four-door sedan should be worth a chunk of change.

 

So where are your cars going? You don't have to get personal.

If I were you, I would talk to my Daughter as you never know what she might think. And what if she has your grandson .. maybe he would love to have Grandpa's car !

[Mark D]

My son is showing more interest in the car lately. I think he may end up with it, but I hope I don't have to think about this for another 40 years.

[1950 Special Deluxe]

My wife is the 4th generation owner of our car.

So it will go to 1 of our 2 boys after we are gone.

Not sure which 1 yet.

They both took mechanics in school.

If all goes well that decision is still years away.

[Bobacuda]

This is a decision that I hope is WAY in the future.  My son wants my B4B and at least one of my Barracudas ('70 convertible and '74 coupe) they all need to be rebuilt - slow process).  He would also like his grandfather's 1954 Chevy station wagon (he was close to his grandpa - the wagon also needs going through - I will have a busy retirement till I die  ).  I have told them both that I will not give either of them any vehicle if they transform into turds in their old age, or if their kids look at them and say "hot rod or rat rod." (BTW, I get asked all the time how the hell I got so many Barracudas and two are convertibles.  I bought them when prices were cheap and they were not road worthy years ago).

 

Plans are currently the daughter will get the 1967 Barracuda convertible, the son will get grandpa's wagon & probably the B4B.  So far, the daughter has said to give him all the cars (other than the 1967).

 

That said, if I go first, no telling what my wife will do with them (other than the B4B and her Daddy's wagon).

[ggdad1951]

my nephew (of the 4 I have he is the most like me) will get FEF, stays in the family...what he does with it..it won't matter to me...I'll be gone!

[austinsailor]

On a more general note, and this applies to new cars and old - have you taken care of what will happen to it if you don't wake up tomorrow?

 

Recently I've been involved in several family deaths where the only thing not taken care of were vehicles. Houses, bank accounts, retirement funds were all set to go where they wanted.  But probate was still required for the vehicles. And in a couple cases, the probate and attorney's fees turned out to be as much or more than the vehicles were worth. As I mentioned in another post, many states make it very easy to avoid any outside interference to take care of this when you die.

 

Worst case I've seen was when my brother died. He had everything taken care of except the 1966 Honda he was restoring. The attornies convinced my sister in law that she HAD to go through probate. Once it started, they sucked in the life insurance and all into the estate. In the end, once the dust cleared, the only thing that got settled was one disassembled 1966 Honda Dream. Cost her $10,000 in fees, etc, to get a title on a motorcycle worth maybe $300 to $500. She gave it to me. I was grateful for it having a title I could transfer to my name, but there were cheaper ways to do it.

 

In Missouri you simply add a person for it to "Transfer on death" (TOD) when you die. You go down with the death certificate and get a new title for the cost of the title, about $12.  In Texas, there is a line on the title you can write it in. It's not filed with the state, but as long as the title survives and can be found, it's a simple transfer. I'm sure many, if not most, states have something similar.

 

If you wonder if I follow my own advice, I have aproximately 40 titles of boats, trucks and cars - and 2 bikes - with the transfer person already taken care of. If I get hit by a bus later tonight, my wife won't have to worry about that part.

 

Seriously, you never know, and it's MUCH easier to take care of today than the day after you're gone.

[Niel Hoback]

We just put two names on the title with "and/or" between them.  The survivor can do what they want then.

[Mark D]

Just just had our lawyer update our wills, create a family trust, put all our real estate holdings into the trust, created individual healthcare proxies, and durable power of attorneys, and put our primary residence into homestead.  It was quick painless and cost under $2k. We feel better now that its all done.

[DonaldSmith]

Mark D:  Legal work well worth the $2K.  My wife and I formed a revocable living trust over 20 years ago.  Everything is in it, except the first share in the credit union and the title to the cars.  The car titles in Michigan give full rights to survivor, but I'll look for someplace to designate someone else. 

[austinsailor]

You can put the titles in the trust too.

[oldasdirt]

My wife and I were talking about who'd get my Desoto when I'm gone.  My daughter is 23 and a wonderful girl, but I don't think she or her husband knows the upkeep of an old classic. Or what this kind of car means to one of us who restore them.

 

I'd rather have it in my will to have the car sold to a car guy and just give her the money, or my wife if I go first.

 

I'm sixty one, and if I live twenty more years, a restored '47 Desoto four-door sedan should be worth a chunk of change.

 

So where are your cars going? You don't have to get personal.

This is a topic that has been discussed a few times in our family. I like other here would suggest you talk with your Daughter.  It is funny I have a Granddaughter who will be 23 in May and she will wind up with one of my cars. My wife and I decided to sit the family down for a discussion on things such as who gets cars, who gets the hunt camp or should we liquidate things and divide the cash.Of our 5 children 3 of them didn't want to talk about it and they  are far from their 20s. Our oldest girl and youngest boy had to strong arm the others to be involved. Both my wife and I thought we knew the children pretty well and we guessed we would have 2 boys and 1 girl interested in cars, and 1 of those boys and our youngest son interested in the hunt camp.

During the discussion both of us got lots of surprises  and without question I can tell you it was a good thing for our family that we took this road !

 

As a whole all the children really do get along well. When they were oh 10-20 that would not have been case, but with their 20s well behind them they really do get along well. What was surprising, is  their views of what my wife or I would have wanted. It literally shocked my wife.Without boring you with all the details our family discussion expanded to include some of the grandchildren. That discussion has resulted in both my wife and myself extremely happy that we took this road. It was the right answer for our family.

 

There will be some things sold. Some before my wife and I likely get the checkered flag and some things following our passing. Some of the property I thought the children would have wanted to keep, they would have only kept because they thought that was what we wanted them to do. My oldest son was the one who had the biggest surprise when he pointed out that one of my cars should go to his youngest sisters daughter, the 23 year old. In the end, our two "new cars" which are 1 to 5 years old, will be sold.  The crown jewels with all be kept by one of the family members and my latest purchase the hemi Plymouth will be co-shared by 3 of the children.  Not sure how that will work out but they think it will so that is all that counts.   Now we happen to have

2 of our children who are legal beagles so all the paperwork and government red tape are being looked after by them and I honestly believe not only are they all happy, but sitting everyone down and discussing what they wanted and what we wanted was one of the best things we have done. 

 

Your 23 year old and her husband may not want anything to do with your car although I would definitely ask her or them.

[Captain Neon]

I know that my childless aunt and uncle have a will, but I do not know the details.  I'm assuming liquidation of all assets and equal split between all of the nieces and nephews, 6 of us.  If there is anything in particular that we want, bid at the auction.  I do wonder about living will and final disposition.  As I live closest, and am my uncle's oldest nephew, I am probably considered next of kin, esp. for pressing medical decisions.  However, I have no idea what their wishes are.  My father has made it very clear, but my uncle (father's brother) at 68, and still working full-time, seems to think he has plenty of time for these decisions.  I have no idea where they want their final resting places to be.  My uncle will probably be cremated, as were his parents, but I have no idea what my RC aunt wants done.

[Dave72dt]

I've got enough kids and grandkids who would be interested in my projects if they were complete.  Only one would have the skills to complete any body work but his mechanical skills are lacking.  He'd be interested in one or two of them, the rest would be sold off or hauled off, depending on how far along they are.  I guess I need to get them finished. 

[Mikec4193]

My old junk when I go on.....

 

I was out to see my son out in Kansas last month and he was telling me..."dad I don't want any of your stuff..." you can give it all to Megan (his sister)...I have it written in my will he will get all my vehicles...which last year sat at 6 vehicles...been selling most of my junk in the past year....last year I think I sold 4...so he will only have to deal with 2 of them if I go on in the near future...he has never been a gear head...he always wanted to save the world...

 

All I ever wanted to do was race oval track stuff...so if I get back into that stuff again then he will have to dispose of that stuff too...

 

MikeC