Selling a car you inherited in Tulsa

If the owner filed a transfer-on-death notice

Oklahoma lets a car owner name the person who gets the car when they die. The owner fills in Form 771, the Transfer on Death Notice Application, and signs it before a notary. It works only on a car with no lien on it. The owner can file it at any time, or the named person can submit it after the death if the owner completed it first. Nothing changes during the owner's lifetime. The state's glossary puts it plainly: "Ownership does not transfer when this is filed."

After the death, the person named fills in the transferee affidavit on the back of Form 771 and signs it before a notary. Attach a copy of the death certificate. The form says to hand it in at a tag agency; Service Oklahoma now calls these offices licensed operators. State law then has Service Oklahoma issue a title in your name. The same back page also lets you turn the car down and disclaim any interest in it.

Some events cancel the notice. The form lists an active lien on the record when you apply, the named person dying before the owner, and the owner selling the car first, among others. If the car had more than one owner, every one of them must have died before the transfer can finish. A filed notice does not show on later title paperwork, so look through the owner's files for a copy.

Source: Service Oklahoma, Form 771 Transfer on Death Notice Application; 47 O.S. 1107.5; Service Oklahoma, Auto & Vehicle glossary.

No will and no probate: Form 798

When there is no will and nobody has opened an estate in court, the form is Form 798, the No Administrator Affidavit. If you went looking for an heirship affidavit for an Oklahoma vehicle, this is the nearest match. Service Oklahoma's forms list has no form by that name. Form 794, the Family Affidavit, is not it: a living owner signs that one to give a car to a spouse, parent or child. Form 798 is where a relative swears to their place in the family, and the note at its top sets the limit: "The applicant must be related to the decedent."

You sign it in front of a notary. In it you swear to four things. The estate needs no administration. No court has issued letters to anyone. The car was not left to anyone by will. No living person has a prior right to it. That last line is a promise about your whole family, so talk it over with them before you sign. With the affidavit and a copy of the death certificate, Service Oklahoma says you can complete the title paperwork at any licensed operator.

Source: Service Oklahoma, Form 798 No Administrator Affidavit; Service Oklahoma Help Center, previous owner deceased; Service Oklahoma, forms list; Service Oklahoma, Form 794 Family Affidavit.

A will that names the car: Form 405

When the owner left a will, Service Oklahoma's starting point is probate, with one exception for a small estate. Form 405, the Small Estate Affidavit, fits when the will leaves the car to you by name and VIN and the estate is worth $50,000.00 or less. Then no court case is needed.

The value test is not the car. It is the owner's property in Oklahoma that passes by will, less liens and encumbrances. You also swear that no request to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any court, and that the estate's taxes and debts are paid, provided for, or barred by limitations. Bring a copy of the death certificate and a copy of the unprobated will that names you for the car.

Those four statements closely follow a state law, 58 O.S. 393. That law's version applies ten or more days after the death. Form 405 names no waiting period, so ask the licensed operator before filing sooner.

Source: Service Oklahoma, Form 405 Small Estate Affidavit; Service Oklahoma Help Center, previous owner deceased; 58 O.S. 393.

When the estate goes through probate

A will that does not fit Form 405 goes to court first. Service Oklahoma's help center says "the will must first be legally verified (probated) before any action will be allowed." After that, you take the letters testamentary that award you the car, plus a copy of the death certificate, to a licensed operator.

State law sends probate to the district court of the county where the owner lived at death, wherever the death happened. For a Tulsa County resident, that is the Tulsa County district court.

Probate also opens a second way to sell. Once appointed, an executor or administrator can ask the court for an order to sell personal property, at public auction or in a private sale. In that case the estate is the seller, so ask the licensed operator what it needs to see from the court.

Source: Service Oklahoma Help Center, previous owner deceased; 58 O.S. 5; 58 O.S. 388.

What the Tulsa counter will ask you for

In Tulsa, this title work is done at a licensed operator. The paperwork guide explains how to find one near you. Whichever route fits, bring these:

• A copy of the death certificate. Every route above asks for one. The Oklahoma State Department of Health handles death certificate requests.
• Your route's own document: the back of Form 771, a notarized Form 798, a notarized Form 405 with the will, or the letters testamentary.
• A valid driver's license, which is on the state's general list for moving an Oklahoma title.
• Verification of liability insurance, which the same list asks for on a motor vehicle.
• A lien release, if a lender still shows on the record. The title problems page covers getting one.

Source: Service Oklahoma Help Center, previous owner deceased; Service Oklahoma, Vehicle Titles; Oklahoma State Department of Health, death certificates.

Selling a deceased owner's car once it is in your name

Service Oklahoma spells it out: "When you buy or inherit a vehicle, the title must be transferred into your name to verify the ownership has passed from the previous owner to you." Then the sale works like any other Oklahoma sale.

The transfer into your name is a title transaction, and the state converts a paper title to an electronic record when one happens. So you will most likely sell with Form 718, the bill of sale for an electronic title, signed before a notary. If a buyer wants paper, Oklahoma accepts paper title requests when there is no lien on the car. The paperwork guide covers both, and the after-you-sell checklist covers the filing and the plate.

From there you have two ways to sell. We buy some cars ourselves and pay by check. We will look at an inherited car even while the title or the keys are still missing, though we don't buy every car we look at. When we can't, our partner's instant offer is the other route. It is free, with no obligation to take it. The partner arranges the pickup, covers its cost, and pays by check when it collects the car. It lists the title, the registration and a valid driver's license or ID as the documents to have ready, so ask it which ownership document it will take before you book. A car that has sat for months may not start; the any-condition guide covers that.

Source: Service Oklahoma, Vehicle Titles; Service Oklahoma Help Center, selling with an electronic title; The partner buyer: offer, pickup, payment and documents.

Talk it through with a person in Tulsa

Every inherited car comes with its own mix of papers. Call the Tulsa line, (539) 271-2021, and tell us what you are holding: a notice, a will, a court case, or only a death certificate. We cover all of Tulsa. If you would rather write it down, send us the details of the car and a person calls you back. If it is a car we can't buy, or you want a number online first, the partner's instant offer is the other route.