Who Owns a Car After One Owner Dies if the Finance Company Has a Lien on It?

Full question:

I have been divorced for 4 1/2 yrs. My EX died in Ohio On Oct 4, 2010. I get a note from his lawyer in Indiana where we had lived. This Lawyer wants me to sign a document giving her ownership Of a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee we owned jointly and was paid off by a bankruptcy in my name only. S I don't know why his lawyer and not his family pay for the burial. Our divorce decree says nothing about the Jeep. How I see it is I own the Jeep since it was in both our names. This lawyer is in Valparaiso IN. and apparently has the Jeep. Like I said I believe I am the owner of the Jeep. I would like my brother who lives there to pick up the Jeep from her.

• Category: Wills and Estates
• Subcategory: Probate
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Nevada

Answer:

Typically, when a car is financed, it is titled in the names of the drivers/owners, but the finance company has a lien on the vehicle, which is recorded on the title. In bankruptcy, when a debt is discharged, the creditor agrees to forego the full amount and is precluded from pursuing the debt further. It sounds like a release of lien was never filed and the new attorney is attempting to do so, but the finance company cannot release their lien with your signature as owner or co-owner. If the property wasn’t included in the divorce, the answer will depend in large part on how the vehicle is titled.

When a vehicle is titled as joint tenants with right of survivorship, rather than tenants in common, the surviving owner inherits the deceased owner’s interest. The surviving owner would then be the one to apply for a transfer of title and deal with any release of lien issues in doing so. Tenants in common hold title to real or personal property so that each has an "undivided interest" in the property and all have an equal right to use the property. Tenants in common each own a portion of the property, which may be unequal, but have the right to possess the entire property. There is no "right of survivorship" if one of the tenants in common dies, and each interest may be separately sold, mortgaged or willed to another. A tenancy in common interest is distinguished from a joint tenancy interest, which passes automatically to the survivor. Upon the death of a tenant in common there must be a court-supervised administration of the estate of the deceased to transfer the interest in the tenancy in common.

We suggest you consult a local attorney who can review all the facts and documents involved.