03/02/2026
🚗 Most people plan for what happens to their house and their bank accounts. Almost nobody thinks about the car.
If the car is jointly owned, the surviving owner brings a death certificate to the DMV and updates the title. No court involved. If your state allows transfer-on-death vehicle titles, the named beneficiary does the same thing. Title, death certificate, ID. Done.
If the car is titled only in the deceased owner's name with no TOD designation, it goes through probate with everything else. No one can legally sell it, gift it, or transfer it until a court issues an order. Meanwhile the car sits in a driveway depreciating.
Many states now allow TOD beneficiary designations on vehicle titles. It works the same way a POD works on a bank account. You name a beneficiary, they have no rights while you are alive, and ownership transfers automatically at death. Free to set up. Revocable at any time.
Not every state offers this. Check your state's DMV website for "transfer on death" or "beneficiary designation" vehicle title options. If your state does not offer it and the car is not jointly owned, the car will need to go through probate or qualify under your state's small estate threshold.
Documents you will need at the DMV for any transfer: a certified copy of the death certificate, the current vehicle title, your ID, and any court documents if probate was involved. Some states also require an odometer disclosure statement and a small transfer fee.
