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Car Title Research

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SamiS2

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? SC

My mother was diagnosed with cancer last September, and she died 5 weeks later. When she knew there was no chance she would survive but she was still ambulatory and coherent, she went to an attorney and drew up a will. The will states that all her interests and possessions be bequeathed to a trust company for the benefit of her children (me and my brother, divided equally). At that time, she did not have a complete list of her interests and possessions, so the trust company had a lot of research to do once they took over the estate. Probate has been filed and the trust company has officially been appointed.

2-3 days before Mom died, my brother told me he thought it would be best if we got Mom's car title transferred so it "wouldn't get caught up in the estate". He insinuated it could be a big mess to handle, and that it wasn't good for a car to sit idle for a long time. When he approached our mother with the idea, she became very upset and turned to me for answers. She was barely coherent at this point, was not eating anymore, and couldn't stand up without assistance. Not wanting to upset her further, I told her to just go ahead and sign the title and that everything was going to be OK. I figured my brother would turn the car over to the trust company or at least acknowledge that I was entitled to half its value, but in fact he took the car from her home a couple weeks after her death, and he has been driving it since. I have brought it up with the trust officers a few times, but they have not been very responsive to my requests to get more information.

Last night, my brother and I had a rather nasty argument. He has been doing some very underhanded things involving my mother's furniture and personal property, and I called him out on it. I told him he was being very unfair, and in my rage I brought up the issue of the car. I could not believe it, but he he actually had the nerve to tell me there was nothing to discuss because our mother "gave him the car". I was in the room when he got my mom's signature under questionable circumstances, as was my husband, my brother's wife and my mother's boyfriend. My mother's boyfriend told me (after my mother died) that she was very upset about the whole incident and it made him mad that my brother would do such a thing. So, there are 3 of us who agree with what actually happened, and 2 people (my brother and his wife) who will corroborate his version of the story.

To my knowledge, he has not been successful in getting the title paperwork processed yet. Mom's signature was little more than scratches on the paper at that point, so I imagine our DMV wasn't happy about that. The 2010 tax bill (in my mom's name) has not been paid, and there is no tax record in my brother's name for that car. If it is still in my mother's name, the taxes are due at the end of this month. My mother and brother live in different counties (both in SC). I do not need the car or want the car, but I do feel that I should be entitled to half its value per my mother's will.

First of all, I'd like to know how to find out who the car is currently titled to. Can/will the DMV tell me that, and if so do I have to have anything to prove who I am? Second, I'd like to know what recourse I have once I find out the status of the car. If the paperwork has not been completed, I will insist that the trust company handle this and get the car from my brother. If he has managed to get the title transferred, is there anything legally that I can do to protest it and have it transferred to the trust company?

Thanks for any advice that can be provided on this matter.
 



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