I just love cleaning up someone else's mess

To shorten this up, my grandmother died several years ago, and despite my mother claiming she'd take care of my grandmother's car legally, she never did. It was stowed in my garage until she "could get around to it".
She never got around to it. And recently moved a thousand miles away and left the car in my garage. WONDERFUL. Now I've got 3 thousand pounds of dead weight in my garage that also doesn't even run anymore.

Ok, so just dig up the title and sell it for salvage, right? Easy enough, no?

No, the title's lost.
And the car was registered in Florida.
We live in Michigan, my grandma died right after we moved up here, before she could register her car with MI.

So now I'm playing phone tag with the MI SOS and FL DMV, neither of which seem to understand that my grandmother IS FEKKING DEAD AND CAN'T SIGN ANYTHING FOR A TITLE COPY.

I don't even know what TF to do at this point. It seems neither state does, either, other than send me in phone call circles. And email me forms that need my grandmother's signature(neat trick for the dead, eh?)

I'm just...# this crap. If it ran, I'd dump it in a store parking lot and be done with it, but it doesn't run. And I don't know anyone with a hitch. # me...

a reply to: Nyiah

It might just need a jump start.

What year make and model is it? It could be worth more when running. Could make all this effort worth it.

Sell it on CL, parts, specify no title, must bring trailer, Ran when parked

originally posted by: KKLOCO
a reply to: Nyiah

It might just need a jump start.

What year make and model is it? It could be worth more when running. Could make all this effort worth it.

An '03 Mazda...6? Not the sport one, the sedan. IF we can get it to run again, it would be mildly worth the massive headache of figuring out how to re-title it across states who can't seem to communicate for s# and sell it. The value is much lower due to her having been in a fender bender years ago and needing the front end rebuilt. It would still fetch a small sum if sold, though. If it ran again.

But right now, it's still taking up space in my garage and I'm sick of looking at it. My husband's sick of looking at it. We've had it up to our eyebrows with the procrastination on the goddamn thing.

originally posted by: Plotus
Sell it on CL, parts, specify no title, must bring trailer, Ran when parked

Not entirely sure if that's legal in MI for private sale. I can't find a single scrap company willing to take it. That speaks volumes to state law for them, so I assume it's the same for private.

Edit: To clarify, to sell as scrap, you either have to prove you are the owner with other documents, or have the dead owner's title. Which we don't have.

Ack.....sign your grandmother's name yourself. ....As POA. Mail back and see what happens.

a reply to: Nyiah

If it’s been sitting that long, it probably needs a new battery. Take the battery core down when you buy a new one. This will get you a discount.

Install the new battery. If it still doesn’t start (judging by year make, model and fender damage) it’s probably not worth salvaging to drive. But you can return the new battery and get a refund. So no loss of money, just loss of time.

At that point, Plotus had a truly great idea — sell the parts. You absolutely do not need a title for that. Just be prepared for some scrappy ass dudes to show up at your house. Make sure your hubby is home when you do.

ETA: ATS auto spell check originally put gender instead of fender. And just coming back to edit— it did it again! Wow! What kind of world do we live in....

a reply to: Nyiah

Was your mom the executrix for grandma's estate?
If so, she should have the legal authority to sign any paperwork in lieu of dead grandma.

a reply to: Nyiah

I don't even know what TF to do at this point. It seems neither state does, either, other than send me in phone call circles. And email me forms that need my grandmother's signature(neat trick for the dead, eh?)

It sounds like you need to send the FL DMV a copy of your grandmother's death certificate along with any forms and a letter explaining why you need the copy of the title.

Tow it to the nearest BMV and make it their problem since they've made it impossible to take care of yourself. That's what I'd do.

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: Nyiah

Was your mom the executrix for grandma's estate?
If so, she should have the legal authority to sign any paperwork in lieu of dead grandma.

That would have entailed the lifting of at least one finger. Nothing regarding my grandmother's stuff was ever put through probate because both her and my uncles are cheap bastards and nobody wanted to pony up.

That's ANOTHER wrench in the gears we have to figure out -- is it considered an abandoned vehicle at this point, and thus can we do as we please, or do we need MORE documentation of one kind or another? Round and round the phone calls go, where they stop, who the hell knows. Actually, I've been on hold for almost and hour and have about had it for the day. I'm tempted to hang up and try again Monday. Maybe I can get somebody with enough brain cells to answer "She's dead, what do I do to get this thing legal to sell/scrap" better than "Have her sign a title transfer, call the old state/new state".

originally posted by: Deetermined
a reply to: Nyiah

I don't even know what TF to do at this point. It seems neither state does, either, other than send me in phone call circles. And email me forms that need my grandmother's signature(neat trick for the dead, eh?)

It sounds like you need to send the FL DMV a copy of your grandmother's death certificate along with any forms and a letter explaining why you need the copy of the title.

That's the most likely route, but I'm trying to get a straight answer out of FL to be certain because of these sit-on-one's-ass circumstances. I don't know exactly how the law in either state currently views the car -- still owned by grandma? Technically abandoned? Tied up in the estate s#? REALLY wish someone in FL would answer this, god damn. A simple question gets you punted around the DMV system until someone who's really only half-listening and thinks you want a living person to do a title transfer gives up and suggests calling MI SOS, who said to call FL in the first place... Yay bureaucracy!

originally posted by: Nyiah

originally posted by: KKLOCO
a reply to: Nyiah

It might just need a jump start.

What year make and model is it? It could be worth more when running. Could make all this effort worth it.

An '03 Mazda...6? Not the sport one, the sedan. IF we can get it to run again, it would be mildly worth the massive headache of figuring out how to re-title it across states who can't seem to communicate for s# and sell it. The value is much lower due to her having been in a fender bender years ago and needing the front end rebuilt. It would still fetch a small sum if sold, though. If it ran again.

But right now, it's still taking up space in my garage and I'm sick of looking at it. My husband's sick of looking at it. We've had it up to our eyebrows with the procrastination on the goddamn thing.

Make sure it has gas and oil and a good battery. Crank it up and drive it to some underprivileged neighborhood. Leave the keys in it and pat yourself on the back for doing a good deed for someone that needs it.

a reply to: Nyiah

Seriously though, if it was running when it was originally parked there, then its almost certainly just a flat battery that's preventing the engine from turning.

But if you just want to get rid of it and the scrap yards won't take it, then why not just list it as 'free' on some local classifieds site?

Make sure you don't have a little gem in your garage.

And if it's worth nothing, make a spaceship out of it or a 0 point energy generator

NC

Local, lol. We thought about that, seriously XD We can't just up & drive it anywhere, though, it's not registered in this state and hasn't been registered at all in any state for several years. A tow and dump would be best, if we could do it.

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: Nyiah

Seriously though, if it was running when it was originally parked there, then its almost certainly just a flat battery that's preventing the engine from turning.

But if you just want to get rid of it and the scrap yards won't take it, then why not just list it as 'free' on some local classifieds site?

The battery could just need a charge, yes. It wasn't a new one, though, and I have no idea how long they can last dead before they don't charge again. Our jumper cables are shot, so we need to get new ones here soon and give a jump a try.

Again, listing for parts sale it is a legality thing -- I don't actually know exactly where we'd stand (if we have legal rights to it or not) I have no idea what kind of trouble we could get into for "chop shopping" it via CL or whatever, if it's in any kind of legal limbo since my grandmother's estate never went to probate court. I honestly can't tell you if that means everything of hers I still have in my house is still hers until a court decides otherwise, or if it's mine due to time passed, etc. Same for the car.

At the very least, we still need a copy of the title to show who last owned it. Call me overly cautious here, but this thing has been a big enough PITA, I'd rather not have a quick-fix idea go pear-shaped on me before I know one way or the other. Priority is getting the title copy, and seeing where a (competent) DMV employee thinks we stand legally. Next step in lieu of that would be to bug a lawyer, which I'm not keen on doing -- advice is once thing, but if we need to hire someone to go through any legal motions just to get rid of a car that's part of a dead person's estate...we just don't have the extra cash for that right now.

I never did get beyond sitting on hold on the phone with the DMV as of the last post. It disconnected, and it was close to closing down there, so I didn't bother calling back. Looks like I get to try again Monday.

I did text my mother to ask her if she happened to have the original title in her paperwork anywhere. "That's in the glove box." "No it's not, I looked -- the glove box is empty." "Well I put it in there before I left, so that's where it is!"
< sigh >
"No it isn't, and it's not in the center console, under the seats, magazine pockets or anywhere else in the car. You've got to have it mixed in with your stuff."
"I don't have the damn thing!"

That went in a big circle. Suffice it to say, she claims she's going to look through her stuff, but I don't buy it.

a reply to: Nyiah

is it considered an abandoned vehicle at this point, and thus can we do as we please, or do we need MORE documentation of one kind or another?

Worth checking out if you do want to make some money out of it, will need to go to the courts to apply for that. Take whatever information you have and have a talk to them.

a reply to: Nyiah

This wont make you feel any better but the Florida DMV was the worst I have ever dealt with in my entire life.

This is so funny but not funny. I had to take the vision test at the DMV. The guy running it was weird, it was only half way through the process did he hold up a sign to say that he was deaf! That is fine and all, but shouldn't he be doing something that didn't require verbal communication? I don't know how to sign and he obviously couldn't read lips that well.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Nyiah

This wont make you feel any better but the Florida DMV was the worst I have ever dealt with in my entire life.

This is so funny but not funny. I had to take the vision test at the DMV. The guy running it was weird, it was only half way through the process did he hold up a sign to say that he was deaf! That is fine and all, but shouldn't he be doing something that didn't require verbal communication? I don't know how to sign and he obviously couldn't read lips that well.

Oh I know, I used to live there. Getting my FL state ID renewed after a half year lapse (a baby & a toddler makes for time flying) was a massive PITA for something that "just needed a few pieces of post 9/11 paperwork". My BC, marriage cert, social, UTILITIES IN MY NAME, weren't enough proof. I kid you not, they told me I needed a valid -- wait for it -- ID. To renew an ID that expired 6 months prior. I got so frustrated with that back and forth that I gave up and turned on the waterworks to see what happened. The clerk got flustered & pushed through the ID.

My husband's German, so every time he needs a new license, it's funny in a frustrating way. Someone inevitably ends up calling or faxing an embassy or consulate to be told his BC is legit. It took him over 3 weeks to renew his once in FL because the clerks didn't believe the embassy staff and it was a back and forth between us and both of them.

The SOS (MI DMV) was SO much easier to get an ID through, all they wanted from me for verification was my BC, social, marriage cert and husband's signed word that I was who I said I was. No utilities, mail or bills required.

a reply to: Nyiah

I had to go through the same thing, I had to have so much paperwork it was crazy.

a reply to: Nyiah
Taylor Auto Salvage will get it and pay. Taylor, Mi.