After someone has passed, the ownership of a vehicle needs to be transferred. This is a difficult time and we try to do everything we can to make this transition as easy as possible.
If there are two people on the title and they have Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS), this makes the transition much faster. We require the original title, a copy of the death certificate, and a photo identification of the party that is to remain on the title.
Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell takes her oath of office from Judge Alderton. Photo by Jan Wondra.
If there are two people, who did not opt to add JTWROS, then this gets a bit trickier. We require the original title, copy of the death certificate, Letters of Testamentary (obtained by the courts, this appoints someone as the Personal Representative of the deceased), and identification of the party that is to remain on the title.
The Personal Representative will sign the back of the title, in the seller section. They will print the deceased owner’s name by their name, followed by “PR”. The Personal Representative will then sign their signature under this. The Remaining party will also print and sign their name in the seller section. They will then add their name in the buyer’s section of the title.
This also applies if there is a single owner who has passed away. The only difference is there is not a person remaining on the title. This will be a new ownership; which means new plates will need to be issued to whoever the new owner is (which includes the Personal Representative).
There is an exception to the Letters of Testamentary. If the estate of the deceased is valued at less than $70,000, applicants would be able to fill out an Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property Pursuant to Small Estate Proceeding (C.R.S. 15-12-1201). This form can be found online (DR 2712) and must be filled out and signed in front of a notary public.
If you would like to add Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship to an existing or new vehicle, that form can be found online by searching for DR2395 (2nd page). This will need to accompany the original title in both instances.
Lori Mitchell
Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder
Recent Comments