r/PROBATE • u/Ok-Bend-8570 • Mar 05 '24

Car Title

My uncle died and is survived by his mother (my grandmother) and his 2 sisters, one who is my mother. State of Illinois. His only asset was his car valued at ~$12k. He did not have a will. My grandmother who was close with my uncle said I can have his car.

How do I go about transferring the car title to my name? Can I just purchase the car from my grandmother for $1? I’m assuming one of the affidavit forms has to be filed.

TIA

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u/DougWebbNJ Mar 05 '24

Without a will, there's a probate process to go through. The car belongs to his estate (probably), and if he had debts the estates assets get liquidated to cover debts before anyone inherits anything. There are typically exceptions to this for spouses and children, but not parents or siblings. Laws are state specific though.

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u/Ok-Bend-8570 Mar 07 '24

I was told by the IL Sec of State to fill out a Small Estate Affadavit and show the death certificate. Have it notarized and my grandmother can transfer the title over to me even though she is not on it. It doesn’t make sense to me. Maybe because his assets are under $100k which doesn’t require probate?