Gifting a car to a family relative with return upon death

[TrustUser]

i know i am not protected, while i am alive

i just dont want the car to ever be titled in my trust, after i die

that is the only titled asset i own, that is not in my trust

the rest is just my personal property

i know it is a bit over the top, but i dont want to take any chances

i now have a perfect way of giving the car away

i just never looked into it before, cuz there werent that many dollars involved

my next vehicle (which may be many years away) will be an electric one

there are probably close to 100 different electric models, now

 

[Taxing Matters]

i know i am not protected, while i am alive

i just dont want the car to ever be titled in my trust, after i die

The vast majority of revocable living trusts are simply will substitutes, meaning that the assets are distributed to beneficiaries pretty promptly after the trust grantor dies. The cars are not usually driven much, if at all, between death and distribution of the car to the beneficiary. So in that circumstance the risk of any liability to the trust as a result of the car is very minimal. And, of course, the executor has the obligation to ensure that the vehicle is properly ensured if he or she allows the vehicle to be driven before the vehicle is distributed.

If the trust is going to be around for awhile that's another matter. But why would one keep a car or any other asset that does not produce income or grow in value in such a trust? I would expect that depreciating assets in the trust would still get distributed fairly quickly or sold to get cash to invest. If they don't, then again the executor should ensure there is proper insurance for that car.

I'm not saying your choice is wrong. Using a TOD to transfer the car is perfectly reasonable. Lots of my clients do that. I'm just saying that putting the car in most revocable living trusts does not pose much risk to the trust and I don't hestitate to recommend clients do that when it fits the goals they have.

my next vehicle (which may be many years away) will be an electric one

there are probably close to 100 different electric models, now

In decade from now it may be that most of the models you can buy will be electric. Audi and VW already plan that in a decade most if not all of their car line up will be electric. Ford and some other firms have also announced plans for significant expansion of electric vehicles in their fleets. The biggest problem with electrics is that they have to be charged up, and that takes time. That limits longer trips because you can't just hit a charging station to top off your charge in a couple minutes like you can refill a gas tank at gas station. Even if they develop the technology for quick charging to solve that, there is still the need to develop the network of charging stations around the country to replicate the availability of gas stations we have today. So we will experience some of the same early adoption issues that gasoline cars encountered around 120 years ago when they were fairly new. It's going to be interesting to see how that develops.

 

[TrustUser]

i dont think we will ever have a network of charging stations, unless we combine it with the big truck stops. even big trucks will be electric, but they will still need to be charged, if going across the country.

cuz some private company still needs to make money. so it will be quite a bit more expensive per kilowatt (or whatever measure) to charge away from home, cuz all that overhead needs to be paid.

so you and i are only gonna charge away from home, when we "forget", we are in a rush, or we are going beyond our distance

there is also talk in the future of distances increasing dramatically, like 1000 miles or more

like you said, it will be interesting to see how it all develops

i know it will help keep our air cleaner, especially in some of the high polluting countries

 

[TrustUser]

one place that it would make lots of sense to have a number of chargers is at a motel/hotel

i am sure that some already do

but in the future, most of them will probably have that

that way vacationers can travel

although i think that renting cars may be a better alternative, for long distances

if there are any breakdowns in timbuktu, you can simply call for a new car

in the coming years though, people will continue to have one car for distance (in the household)

the rest will probably be electric - school, grocery store, errands, etc

even today, there are few people who really need a gas car for their everyday use

 

[TrustUser]

hi tm,

i thought this might interest you. battery improvements are coming at lightning like speed. not sure we can even predict 10-20 years out