Question of the Week

Question: We have the daughter of a member wishing to pay off her deceased parent's vehicle and take title. She has not been granted any probate authority. Can we let her pay off the vehicle?

Answer: She can pay it off, but you cannot provide her with any account information or allow her take title. Since the vehicle belongs to the deceased member’s estate, only a court-appointed representative can assign assets that belong to the estate. If the account is paid off, the credit union simply releases its lien, but the vehicle still belongs to the estate and would be titled to the estate. Source of funding to pay that off is not a concern of the estate.

So no matter what, if a relative wants to register and take title, they’re going to have to go through the probate process.