Posted by Keith in Washington on Thursday, November 21, 2002 at 3:32PM :
In Reply to: Liable for a legal bill even if innocent, $10,000 posted by dozerhead on Thursday, November 21, 2002 at 2:52PM :
In Washington state they have a removeable portion of the title. It states who the seller is and who purchased it. You are to send it in to the state at the time of sale. The new owner has 15 days from that point to transfer the title. It also releases the original owner of some liability as they are not responsible to make sure that the new owner transfer the title. But he has given notification to the state that they have transfered ownership. It sure helps when the new owner fails to transfer the title and gets in a collision and hurts someone. The original owner could be held liable since he is still the register owner. But if he has sent in the portion of the title and has a signed bill of sale (even if it is on a scrap of paper) it will be much easier to defend that you had sold the vehicle.
Additionally, your comment that every person must go through probate when they die is incorrect. Both my mother in law and father in law did not go through probate when they passed away. Additionally, my father just passed away and I purchased his truck all I needed for the state was a certified copy of his death certificate and a state form that stated that there was no other person that was willed the truck. The title was in both my dad's and stepmom's name. She had to sign several of the documents and the title they had to be noterized. Everything went real fast with the exception that she did not sign the federally mandated odometer reading section on the title. I just had to take it to her for a signature.
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