Legally Junk the car?

Arizona. Car registered in Ohio.

My dad lived in Ohio and passed away 15 months ago and we decided not to open probate. His only asset was a new vehicle that was paid off after his death by GAP ins.
My sister and I were named co-executors(we live in Arizona). The registration on the vehicle is up and it is uninsured. It's sitting around taking up space and now the idea has come up to junk the vehicle. Can this be done without opening probate?

You're going to junk, a 2 year old vehicle?

The book value isn't enough to warrant opening probate, selling the vehicle to CarMax (or whomever), and distributing the cash?

Every car I've sold, donated to charity, or junked if condition bad enough, I've needed to give the title.

Have you considered using the small estate provisions of Ohio 2113.03 to have the estate released from administration? Estates with a value of $35,000 or less are eligible.

Seems like the value of a paid off two-year old car would justify the expense of doing so.

If there are no unpaid claims against the estate, you may be able to submit an affidavit to the DMV to transfer title without probate being involved at all.

tranquility said:

If there are no unpaid claims against the estate, you may be able to submit an affidavit to the DMV to transfer title without probate being involved at all.

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I may be wrong, Tranq, but I don't think that is possible in Ohio.

Thanks for the fast replies. We're going to look into the release of Administration since the vehicle is worth less than 30K.