House Sold, Now What!!

[S/V_Surya]

So I have "retired" and sold my house. I am going to have a company come in and haul all my stuff away to auction except for tools. So here is my question. I have two cars and want to keep one or both. The plan is to take them to Colorado and leave one with my mother and one with my sister. Both their cars are on there last legs. I am planning on setting up remote mail forwarding company like in Florida so I guess I will be a Florida resident. Should I sell cars to relatives on paper and let them get insurance and put me on their policy, or keep and somehow try to insure Colorado cars with Florida residence. It all gets very complicated. I would like to keep in my name and let them use them so as to not burden them with repairs etc. I think this is further complicated by homeland security rules. I had an Arizona license and could not buy a car in Pennsylvania.
Thanks

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by S/V_Surya

So I have "retired" and sold my house. I am going to have a company come in and haul all my stuff away to auction except for tools. So here is my question. I have two cars and want to keep one or both. The plan is to take them to Colorado and leave one with my mother and one with my sister. Both their cars are on there last legs. I am planning on setting up remote mail forwarding company like in Florida so I guess I will be a Florida resident. Should I sell cars to relatives on paper and let them get insurance and put me on their policy, or keep and somehow try to insure Colorado cars with Florida residence. It all gets very complicated. I would like to keep in my name and let them use them so as to not burden them with repairs etc. I think this is further complicated by homeland security rules. I had an Arizona license and could not buy a car in Pennsylvania.
Thanks

Generally, cars need to be registered where they're used, but I can see your dilemma. If they need to do anything to the cars, like insure or repair them, it may be easier if their name is on the title - otherwise they'll need a power of attorney. There isn't a mail forwarding company in Colorado?

[S/V_Surya]

There may be a mail forwarding service in Colorado but I want a state that has no income tax.

[brookiesailor]

If the cars are on their last leg, why not just get rid of them?


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[nimblemotors]

Transfer the titles into their names in their states as gifts. They will have to insure them to drive them anyway. Why would this be a burden on them?

Originally Posted by S/V_Surya

So I have "retired" and sold my house. I am going to have a company come in and haul all my stuff away to auction except for tools. So here is my question. I have two cars and want to keep one or both. The plan is to take them to Colorado and leave one with my mother and one with my sister. Both their cars are on there last legs. I am planning on setting up remote mail forwarding company like in Florida so I guess I will be a Florida resident. Should I sell cars to relatives on paper and let them get insurance and put me on their policy, or keep and somehow try to insure Colorado cars with Florida residence. It all gets very complicated. I would like to keep in my name and let them use them so as to not burden them with repairs etc. I think this is further complicated by homeland security rules. I had an Arizona license and could not buy a car in Pennsylvania.
Thanks

[SV THIRD DAY]

Sell one and store the other, but letting anyone drive a car in your name is crazy these days. Just imagine this.

Your car wreaks...the family of the little boy that your car put in a wheelchair has a lawyer that finds out the cars registered owner or partner or co-registrant lives on a Yacht out sailing the world. My friend, they will be coming after you and your cruise dream will be on hold for a year or two while you fight for your financial life and future cruising kitty.

Sell, Gift, or store.
We put one car in storage and signed over the title of the second car to our church.

[Cuttyhunk]

I did this some years ago. A friend kept my Miata in his garage while I was cruising. I called my insurance company beforehand and got the ok -- as long as the driver had his own cars and insurance policy, he did not even have to be named on mine. That was in Connecticut.

A big advantage to keeping a car and insurance policy is that it can be quite difficult to get insurance again after a gap in coverage. You also might look into exceptions to state requirements to re register the car. I went to grad school in Arizona straight from living in the Florida Keys. I was able to keep my Florida registration as a student. I disclosed the car's location to my insurance company and paid the appropriate price for coverage in Arizona even though the registration remained in Florida.

Your best bet is to discuss with your insurance company and research the rules (especially exceptions) in Colorado and Florida. Liability issues are managed by appropriate levels of coverage for one's individual situation.


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[brookiesailor]

I forgot about the insurance thing. We live overseas and our car stayed parked in our garage at home. Just when I was about to return overseas my car gave up the ghost. I decided not to buy a car at that moment and when I called the insurance company to cancel they told me about the gap issue and sold me a travelers policy, way cheap, that covered me for car rentals all over the world. When I returned home for the summer and bought another car they just canceled the travelers policy and hooked me up with standard insurance.


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[a64pilot]

I would just gift them the cars. Reason is without power of attorney etc they will have issues with registration / taxes / insurance and Lord knows what. Barney Fife pulls them over and starts asking how come they are driving a car that isn't theirs etc.

[Runninjill]

Originally Posted by S/V_Surya

I would like to keep in my name and let them use them so as to not burden them with repairs etc.

You can still pay for the car repairs for your mother and sister if you wish, and that is independent of who's name is on the paper.

If your intent is ultimately for them to have full use of the vehicles once their's die off, and you will only have occassional use when you return to land and visit, then by all means you should transfer ownership into their names.

Another poster is correct; if either ends up in an accident with the car (still in your name) and is at fault, the other party will most definitely attempt to file a claim on your assets (if your mother and sister do not have adequate assets of their own).

I went through this a year ago with my uncle, who's RV was totalled when hit by a 20 year old girl driving a car her mom had given her, but was still titled in the mother's name. Her insurance didn't pay for every out-of-pocket expense incurred in replacing the RV. Girl didnt' have any assets. Mom had a nice home with pool on a large ranch, and plenty of assets in the bank. It took some work on my uncle's part, but he finally got his payment.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

Transfer the titles into their names in their states as gifts. They will have to insure them to drive them anyway. Why would this be a burden on them?

I believe you have nailed it and took the complexity out of it.

[S/V_Surya]

Thanks all good information. Here is more info.
Car on last legs (mom): She is 93 and stopped driving a few years ago. Has a 91 crown victoria with about 80k miles. Although she maintains it with oil changes etc when I drive it I hear odd noises. She has never replaced hoses or belts. I have had vapor lock numerous times but she wont fix it. My niece lives with her and drive her around. My niece is a pretty lousy driver.

Car on last legs (sister): 1995 pontiac or something. She drives but not much. She told she wants to buy a car but cannot afford it.

Both are stubborn.

I am not a mechanic but do a lot of my own auto repairs. So if I give them a car I will be getting phones calls and complaints.

I like the idea of gifting the cars and somehow keeping my insurance active. I will check it out.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by S/V_Surya

Thanks all good information. Here is more info.
Car on last legs (mom): She is 93 and stopped driving a few years ago. Has a 91 crown victoria with about 80k miles. Although she maintains it with oil changes etc when I drive it I hear odd noises. She has never replaced hoses or belts. I have had vapor lock numerous times but she wont fix it. My niece lives with her and drive her around. My niece is a pretty lousy driver.

Car on last legs (sister): 1995 pontiac or something. She drives but not much. She told she wants to buy a car but cannot afford it.

Both are stubborn.

I am not a mechanic but do a lot of my own auto repairs. So if I give them a car I will be getting phones calls and complaints.

I like the idea of gifting the cars and somehow keeping my insurance active. I will check it out.

Sounds like more compassion than sense? If you feel like you need to support them, have at it.

[motaman9]

We recently had an issue like this with our last vehicle. We didn't want to go without car insurance and get gouged for the gap in coverage when we came back. My agent turned us on to "storage insurance" which counts as having car insurance for about $10 a month. We just stored our van and went with that. Our van is a 1999 with 185k miles on it but it runs like a champ and looks new thanks to garage storage. We couldn't replace it for less than $5k so we keep it. I'd donate or sell both and get a cheap beater for Florida.....I've never had a good experience giving a vehicle to a relative.....


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[Weyalan]

If, as you say, both cars are on their last legs, just sell them for whatever you can get and walk away. If, in the future, you need a car, buy one then.