You know the folklore:
“You’re kin; you can go tag this car for me.”
“Of course you can sell it, we’re family.”
This is the cousin who wants to “help sell your car.” By daves_archive1, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Is it really this easy, though? Can you sell a car owned by a family member? Sure, there are circumstances where you can take a family member’s car and sell it for them. However, this would generally be if they have already signed the title and you are more or less officiating it on their behalf.
Or, in the case of my truck, which you can read about here, the family had been granted power of attorney over the estate for an elderly gentleman with dementia. In this case, they had complete control over the sales of all assets in his name.
But what about when things are a little grayer? Can you sell a car owned by a family member without them being there?
Whose Name Is on the Title?
Whose name is on the title is where the rubber meets the road. It doesn’t matter what you have to say on the matter or what your opinion is. If your name isn’t on the title, you don’t own it. If you don’t own it, you don't get to sell the car.
You can’t just walk into the DMV and try to get someone else’s car put into your name, and you can’t just sell it to someone else either. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
Can the Family Member Join You at the DMV?
Of course! Unless it is a weird local rule, the family member can definitely join you at the DMV. In fact, it would be best if they did join you at the DMV in case anything odd comes up, if the DMV needs a signature, or anything else.
What Is A Car Title?
To understand why this is a big deal, we have to understand how the DMV – as an extension of the state – looks at the car title.
A title shows who owns the vehicle. It’s as simple as that. Whoever is on the title is who actually owns the vehicle.
The DMV does not care what elbow was thrown and which insults were dropped along the way. If that title does not have your name on it, you are not selling that car unless the owner adds you to the title.
And if they are going to add you to the title, unless they plan on selling the vehicle down the road in their absence, why would they go to the trouble of adding you instead of selling it themselves?
But back to the title.
Titles vary somewhat from state to state, but generally speaking, they include:
The owner’s name(s)
VIN
Odometer reading from when it was last sold
Weight class
Any lienholder information (the lienholder holds a title until it is paid off)
The back of a car title is usually the title assignment section where buyers’ and sellers’ names are placed, along with addresses, dates of sale, and their signatures. Some states used to require notaries for the sale, but that practice seems to have waned these days.
[Also, be sure to check out our other articles on title issues]
Has the Court Ordered a Property Settlement?
Image by Sergei Tokmakov, Esq. https://Terms.Law from Pixabay
Property settlements are generally associated with divorces, although they don’t necessarily have to be. But divorce is one of the most common reasons for a property settlement.
So here’s how it works: the DMV does NOT dictate who gets to own the vehicle. They don’t care at all. The court is the only entity that decides the ownership of the vehicle if there is a disagreement.
The DMV will only correct the names on a title if and when there is a property settlement signed by a judge.
From my humble experience, it is best to see if you can work out something with whoever’s name is on the title if you believe it to be rightfully yours. It is always best to keep the court out of the equation if at all possible. They are not there to make sure you get what you are asking for. They are there to determine what is right in the eyes of the law (at least that’s the idea).
What you end up getting may not be what you were looking for, which is why courts almost always order some form of mediation or arbitration before they adjudicate a settlement. They know that a settlement that is agreed upon by the warring parties is a lot more likely to keep said parties out of their courtrooms in the future.
What if Both Names Are on the Title?
Here is where things can get a little dicey, depending on what you need to do with the title and/or the vehicle.
First, every state is a little different so make sure to check out the applicable state DMV rules and regulations to see what your state requires.
But generally speaking, a car title will have two names listed as either
“And”
“Or”
How it appears on the title is between the two individuals.
If it says “and,” it means that both parties must sign the title for all transactions. In case of a disagreement, one individual won’t be able to unilaterally make a decision about the vehicle without the consent and signature of the other person.
However, if it is under an “or,” either individual can make any transfer on the vehicle without the other party’s consent. Both persons on the title have equal rights to sell or transfer the vehicle.
To summarize: if you are on a car title that has “and” on it, and one of the names is yours, you are going to need a court order to sell the car if you have a disagreement with the other person. It is in your best interests (and everyone else’s) to try and figure out some sort of resolution with the other person on the title. Once it gets in the courts, you lose all control over the outcome. It is a flip of the coin who gets to have their name on it at that point.
What if the Title Is Missing?
An alternative scenario is what to do if a car title has gone missing. It isn’t uncommon for a title to wander off when it has been in the same hands for years. Well, this isn’t too big of a deal if the owner(s) are on speaking terms. Usually, you can just send in a request to the DMV for a title replacement. Here in the Sunflower State, it costs about $20.
But, if the title has genuinely gone missing or the DMV has no record of it, you might need to do something a little different.
An out of state title processed through Dirt Legal might be the best thing you can do to recover a missing title. Our process allows you to request a title through a state that is amenable to individuals who are out-of-state as there is no law against who a state allows to title a vehicle. We handle all of the administrative work so you can focus on other things.
In a few weeks, you will receive a title in the mail, along with a tag and registration depending on the service you requested.
Can a Family Member Sell a Car With Permission From the Owner?
Again, this question is a little ambiguous. For you to have legal permission to sell a car, either your name needs to be on the title or you need to have a Power of Attorney form giving you permission to sell the vehicle.
There aren’t really any other exceptions or loopholes. A title is a legal document with specific parameters. The DMV only follows those specific parameters and they will not bend or make exceptions – regardless of what story you tell the agent at the window.
From the perspective of the legal system, the point of a car title is to avoid conflict. That is why the courts do most of what they do; in situations like these, their decisions are often based purely on what is most likely to keep people from coming back.
A title is there to ensure the proper owner or owners are the only parties who can make legally binding decisions about the vehicle. So no, it does not matter what your last name is. If your full name is not on the title, you aren’t selling it, transferring it, or doing anything with it.
Are There Any Out-Of-State Options?
Again, this really depends on the status of the car. If the vehicle in question already has a legal title, you are not going to be able to pull an end-around and title it in another state to try and change the names on it. If you do, there is about a one-million percent chance that you will end up in court. Trust me; I speak from experience.
Especially in divorce court, every nasty, underhanded thing that you have ever done or said will be printed out, put on formal display to the court, and taken completely out of context by the opposing counsel. Every text message, email, and yes, social media post. It is NASTY.
Now, if you do have a case where the title is genuinely lost or missing and there are no records for a replacement, then our out-of-state option might work for you. With that said, to see if there are any issues you aren’t aware of that could prohibit the out-of-state title and registration of the vehicle in question, you should request a VIN Check beforehand.
It will show if there are any issues from the history of the vehicle that could derail getting a title because most out-of-state titling options do require a VIN inspection to make sure the car isn’t titled as a salvage or junk or reported stolen. Again, our VIN check will show you what might get flagged before you do anything official.
Wrapping Up
Vehicle transactions can get messy after a death in the family, divorce, or any other situation where it might be difficult to obtain the signature of the owner on the car’s title.
As heartless as it might sound, the DMV does not care what your name is; if it isn’t a name on the title, you can’t sell the car or transfer ownership to yourself. If you need to sell the vehicle or transfer the title, your name must be on the title. Also, if your name is on the title but it is with someone else’s name (e.g. Kevin AND Mindy), you’re going to need them to sign off on it.
Of course, if the titled owner accompanies you to the DMV, that solves the entire problem. If the other party is not able to go to the DMV or sign off on the title (deceased, coma, incapacitated, etc.), or if there is disagreement with you on selling it, you will probably end up in court to settle it. To be clear, selling a car without a title in this situation is illegal.
If someone asks you personally to sell it on their behalf, you certainly can so long as they have already signed the title and you have a Power of Attorney form legally granting you this privilege.
And finally, if there is a missing title and the DMV cannot procure a new one, our out-of-state titling service is right up your alley. If you are unsure about the status of the title or the VIN in general, grab a VIN Check first to see what the DMV sees when a VIN inspection is conducted. That way you’ll find out about red flags before they start inspecting, and if all’s good, you’ll have that missing title recovered in no time at all.
John McCoy is a lifelong car and truck enthusiast and has a strong mechanical background off the road. He spent over 13 years in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief, assigned to the B-1B Lancer, affectionately known as the Bone to those in the community, and the KC-135R Stratotanker. He resides on a small farm in Eastern Kansas where he (sometimes) enjoys fixing ancient farm equipment.