Doerun, GA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

In order for a person's Will to be made legally effective and actually allow the transfer of assets in the person's probate estate to the intended beneficiaries, it has to be admitted to probate in the appropriate county. In this case, if the aunt had her principal residence in Georgia, the probate court for the county where she had her principal residence is the appropriate county to start with. The Will has to have been admitted to probate and an Executor appointed by the court. There is also "filing for informational purposes only;" that does NOT appoint an executor. It's not clear what you mean when you say the Will has been filed briefly with the court. The Executor of the estate has to notify any potential unknown creditors by publishing a "Notice to Debtors and Creditors," and to clean up all outstanding items such as final income tax returns for the years the aunt was alive and pay her debts. The Executor also has to determine a proper fair market value for her probate assets as of the date of her death. Only once all debts, taxes, and expenses of the estate have been paid can any assets be distributed to the nephew under the Will. In order to transfer the property to the nephew, the Executor then has to execute a deed (which can be called an Executor's Deed, an Assent to Devise, or a Deed of Assent) to actually transfer the property to the nephew's name. Just having the nephew start living there and paying expenses does nothing except put him at risk for all kinds of problems. If the nephew wants to be able to keep this house, he needs to ensure that the estate is dealt with correctly. If he really has no funds, then he may be able to get some legal help through a legal services clinic. Some probate courts in Georgia (DeKalb and Fulton, and I think others) have programs operated through the courts themselves, where volunteer attorneys come and help with these kinds of issues. But in general, he may need to get an attorney to help him. It does not have to be expensive; many attorneys can provide help on an as-needed basis for fairly inexpensive fees.

If your father owned the car, then the car became part of his probate estate when he died. If he didn't have a Will, then his probate estate assets must first be used to pay any year's support claim, debts, funeral expenses, administrative expenses, and taxes, and the remaining assets (if any) are then to be distributed to his heirs. Your father's heirs would include his spouse, if any, any living children, and any living grandchildren he might have by any child of his who died before he did. A surviving spouse or surviving minor child can make a claim for a year's support from the estate; adult children or other heirs can't. If there is no year's support claim or the claim does not take all of the probate assets, then the probate estate assets that remain after everything has been paid are divided among the heirs, with an equal share (not less than 1/3) for the spouse and an equal share of the rest for each child. If the car loan was not paid off, the lender on that loan would be entitled to the proceeds from the sale of the car until the loan is paid. The loan will have to be paid before any heir could keep the car. If there is insurance that will pay off the loan, then the car may still need to be sold and used to pay other debts before it can be kept by any heir. If there are other assets, like real estate or bank/brokerage accounts, that became part of the probate estate, then someone may need to get appointed as the Administrator of the estate. As part of the administration process, the Administrator would need to gather up the assets, make sure debts, expenses, and taxes are all paid, and then distribute any remaining assets. The Administrator can either sell the car or distribute it as part of this process, by signing the title as Administrator and providing a copy of the Letters of Administration to the buyer or recipient so they can get a new title. If there are no probate assets other than the car (except perhaps for things like clothing and furniture without any significant value and less than $10,000 in any given bank or brokerage account), then the heirs may be able to transfer the car to one of them using an Affidavit of Inheritance along with the title to the car. Please note: just because the car can be transferred this way does not make it exempt from creditor claims, and if an heir takes the car and the estate has more debt than it has assets, the creditors can come after the person who received the car personally, to get back the value of the car. If the original title to the car can't be found, the estate will have to be opened because the replacement title can only be issued to the estate, not to any heir. The replacement title would then be needed to sell or transfer the car to a new owner. You should consult an actual attorney for help in determining the best way to deal with your father's estate.  

Leaving aside the practical question of whether this is a smart thing to do, the legal answer is that it depends on what your Security Deed or Deed to Secure Debt says. In most standard documents, any transfer of ownership interest is an event of default that would allow your Lender, usually at their option, to declare the full amount due and to foreclose if you don't pay. So, read your security instrument, and to be extra safe, get written permission from your lender to do this before you do it. However, even before that, you may want to discuss the wisdom of such a move with an estate planning attorney. There may be better options.