Bill > H5660

This bill amends existing motor vehicle title laws to create a new "transfer-on-death" option for vehicle ownership, effective September 1, 2025. Currently, motor vehicles typically pass to a surviving spouse upon the owner's death, but this legislation allows vehicle owners to designate specific beneficiaries who will receive the vehicle upon the owner's death, bypassing traditional inheritance processes. Vehicle owners can indicate their preferred beneficiary directly on the certificate of title using language like "transfer on death to [beneficiary name]," and trusts can also be named as beneficiaries. If no transfer-on-death designation exists, surviving spouses or heirs can still transfer the vehicle by providing a death certificate and an affidavit. The bill ensures that beneficiaries have no legal interest in the vehicle until the owner's death, and owners can revoke or change beneficiary designations at any time without the beneficiary's consent. The Department of Motor Vehicles will be required to create new title forms to accommodate these transfer-on-death designations and may charge associated fees, though these fees cannot exceed the annual vehicle registration fee. This legislation provides vehicle owners more flexibility in estate planning by allowing direct, non-probate transfers of vehicle ownership.

Justice

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