My mother set up her estate in such a way that almost everything was effortless and easy. Unfortunately, that makes the things that aren't easy stick out.
After a nine month battle with AT&T, I broke down and contacted the estate lawyer. Last time I had her send an e-mail - an e-mail! - it cost $278, so I'd been trying to avoid that option. She's very good, but she's not inexpensive.
The good news: I can legally ignore any further communication from AT&T or a collection agency, as per her advice. She assures me that "they are barred by law from pursuing a claim," since the "debt" was incurred after Mom's death. Plus, they failed to file a claim with the estate during the legally prescribed time period, so they're out of luck on two counts. So, score one for me. (Or her.)
Now, I get to tackle an agency just as much fun as a huge telecommunications giant; I get to deal with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
We got the notice in the mail that Mom's car registration was coming due. My brother is coming to town soon to take the car back home with him, so I thought that it would be a relatively simple matter of signing over the title.
Here, we hit a snag. I don't know where the title is. I can find electric bills from years ago, but I can't find the title. I'm sure it's filed somewhere that makes sense, but I probably won't find it in the next two weeks.
No problem; a duplicate title only costs $20.
OK, problem. The title is in my dad's name, despite the fact that Mom bought the car after he died.
She left a lot of things in Dad's name. She had always done that, and just signed things as "Mrs. E. R. Smith." It was legal and easy. I, however, cannot sign things as, "Offspring of E.R. Smith."
I have to take a copy of Dad's death certificate to the DMV, to show that Dad is, in fact, dead, and has been for a quarter of a century. Then, I need Mom's death certificate, to show that she, as Dad's surviving spouse and owner of all of their community property, once owned the car, and now is dead. Then, I will need to produce the paperwork naming me as trustee of the estate. Then I should be able to order a duplicate title, which I will then be able to sign over to my brother.
The minimum amount of time that the DMV will need to process this paperwork is six weeks. The registration expires in two weeks. So, I need to renew the current registration. No problem; it's the typical "owned by a little old lady" car. It has extremely limited miles, on a stellar driving record. Plus, there's no lien holder. The registration fee is only $15.
I renew my registration online, so I tried to renew this car that way. Problem; the software won't let me; I am not the car's legal owner. It wants me to set up an account for Dad.
Assuming that the software doesn't choke when I type in a birth date over one hundred years ago, or reject the plate number, since it's one digit shorter than those issued in recent decades (they kept the same plates, swapping from car to car when they replaced a vehicle), I will not create an account for a deceased man, with the last name of Smith, no less.
The third option is to click, "Check out as a guest," which I tried to do. The computer informs me that (this sounds familiar), "This transaction cannot be completed online." I did it the old fashioned way, through the mail, with a paper check.
Now, we have to wait for the sticker for the plate.
I hope that my brother doesn't get pulled over while driving the car in the meantime. Just to get home from here, he has to drive through portions of three states. I can just imagine the conversation that will ensue if he has to explain to a patrolman why he is driving a car registered to his dead stepfather.
Ah, the joys of a society geared around documentation.
Postscript: one week later
Surprisingly, the DMV visit was relatively quick and painless. It seems that this is not the first time they've had to handle such a thing. I should have remembered the clerk's name so I could send her a cookie bouquet or something.
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