Registration of a car by inheritance after the death of the owner

Inheriting a car

Like any property, a car can only be inherited if it is registered as the property of the testator. Therefore, if a citizen bought a car by power of attorney, then his heirs will not be able to claim it. Moreover, they will not be able to receive the deceased’s money paid for him.

If the testator is the owner, then the car can be inherited:

1. According to an inheritance agreement. To do this, the owner of the vehicle must enter into an agreement with a potential heir during his lifetime. Moreover, any legal entity or citizen can act as an heir. The document is certified by a notary. It is necessary to obtain the consent of the heir to enter into an agreement.
2. According to the will. The will must be drawn up by a notary. The contents of the will are kept secret from the heirs and third parties. Relatives, other citizens, organizations, and the state can act as heirs.
3. In law. If the owner of the car has not drawn up an inheritance agreement or will, then the car is inherited by his relatives. The first priority heirs are the spouse, children and parents. The car will be divided among all the heirs of the same line who submitted an application to the notary in equal shares.

Separately, it is necessary to highlight the dependents of the deceased. These are citizens who were supported by the owner for at least 1 year before his death.

If a potential dependent is a relative, then in order to be included in the heirs, he must prove the fact of regular receipt of financial assistance from the deceased and his own inability to work (minor age or disability).

If the potential dependent is not a relative, then the fact of being a dependent will have to be established through the court. He must prove his own disability, being supported for at least 12 months, living together and maintaining a common household.

The dependent receives a share in the inheritance of the deceased, on an equal basis with the heirs of the queue entering into rights.

In addition, dependents, minor children, disabled adult children, parents, spouses have the right to a mandatory share in the inheritance when drawing up a will. The testator is obliged to provide for them a share in the property of at least ½ part of the share that they would have received during inheritance by law.

Who inherits a citizen’s property after his death?

The car, like any other property of the testator, will be transferred to the successors who have declared their inheritance rights in the manner prescribed by law. In accordance with Articles 1118 and 1141 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, persons of two categories can inherit a vehicle:

• Testamentary heirs.
• Legal heirs.

According to the will, heirs who were chosen by the giver can receive the car. It is for this purpose that the testator draws up a will during his lifetime, defining the conditions and methods of distributing his property after death. For example, the testator has the right to designate lists of worthy and unworthy heirs, as well as the size of their shares and the conditions for their acceptance of the inheritance.

A will can be canceled if it was drawn up by an incapacitated person, in violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation, or without taking into account the rights of some recipients.

In the absence or recognition of a will as invalid, the legal successors, who are represented by seven orders of relatives of the deceased, are called upon to inherit. The first and main category of recipients are the children, spouses and parents of the deceased. Read more: “Degrees of inheritance by law.”

Unworthy heirs, deprived parents, and common-law spouses cannot receive an inheritance. An applicant who misses the entry deadline also loses the opportunity to accept the car as an inheritance, except for cases in which the missed inheritance period has a good reason.

Inheritance by heirs by will and by law is allowed simultaneously. However, in a will, as a rule, the car is always transferred in favor of one person. But according to the law, several recipients can share a vehicle.

How to inherit a car?

Algorithm of actions when inheriting a car:

1. Preparation of documents.
2. Contacting a notary.
3. Conducting an assessment.
4. Payment of state duty.
5. Obtaining a certificate of inheritance rights.
6. Registration of a car with the traffic police.

The heir can register the deceased's car as his own or through a representative. To do this, you need to contact a notary and issue a notarized power of attorney. It must indicate all the powers that the heir wants to transfer to the representative: drawing up documents, contacting government agencies, filing applications, etc. The representative performs his duties only within the powers specified in the power of attorney.

Note! If the heir of the deceased is a child under the age of 18, then the documents are drawn up by his parents or guardians. But the right of ownership arises from the minor.

Statement

To enter into an inheritance, you must submit an application to the notary for acceptance of the inheritance and the issuance of a certificate of inheritance rights. The application must be submitted within 6 months from the date of death of the owner of the car.

The application must include the following information:

• name of the notary office;
• heir data;
• title of the application;
• information about the death of the owner of the car;
• grounds for inheritance (will, family relationship);
• vehicle information;
• a list of other property of the deceased;
• information about other heirs known to the applicant;
• date and signature.

Sample application

Documentation

To inherit a car, you must prepare the following documents:

• civil passport of the heir;
• death certificate of the property owner;
• a certificate of the last place of registration of the deceased;
• title document for the car (sale agreement, donation agreement, certificate of inheritance rights);
• PTS;
• STS;
• documents on the basis of which inheritance occurs (will, documents on family ties).

State duty

The amount of the state duty depends on the family connection with the deceased. Therefore, it is advisable to present documents about family ties to the notary even when inheriting under a will.

Successors will have to pay:

• 0.3% of the cost of the car - to the surviving spouse, children, parents, sisters and brothers;
• 0.6% of the cost of the car - to other legal successors.

When inheriting a car, benefits for paying state duty are received by:

• minors and incompetent heirs are exempt from payment;
• disabled people of groups 1 and 2 – 50% discount on the cost of the property.

Additionally, you will have to pay for legal and technical services of a notary:

• when filing an application for acceptance of inheritance – 1,000 rubles;
• when issuing a certificate of inheritance rights - depending on the prices of the regional notary chamber.

Grade

The calculation of the notary's state duty is based on the results of the assessment report. Therefore, the heirs will have to order an expert assessment of the car from an independent company.

Procedure:

1. Choosing a company.
2. Conclusion of an agreement and payment for services.
3. Providing a car for evaluation.
4. Receive an assessment report.

Note! When concluding a contract, check with the appraiser that you have a valid license to appraise vehicles. And also whether he is a member of the SRO.

The appraiser may offer to conduct an assessment without inspecting the car, using documents. Since moving a car after the death of the owner is not recommended, you can use this option. However, you must be prepared for the fact that the assessment result will be less accurate.

Certificate of right to inheritance

The certificate is issued 6 months from the date of death of the owner. This is the title document for the property.

Heirs can ask for a general certificate for everyone or a separate one for each.

Does an ex-wife have the right to inherit after the death of her ex-husband?

How to enter into an inheritance after the death of a father?

Fines from the previous owner

If you have entered into inheritance rights to a car, you automatically recognize yourself as the payer of the former owner's fines and debts on the vehicle (if any). This is the requirement of Article 39 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. But, it is important to remember that you will only have to pay fines for the last 2 years.

If you do not want to pay the debts of the deceased owner for the car, you automatically refuse the inheritance, and you should draw up an official refusal in the presence of a notary. You are given 6 months to do this from the date of death of the former owner of the property.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the procedure for entering into an inheritance and the right to own a car by inheritance has some difficulties and requires careful adherence to the rules and deadlines. However, you have six months after the death of the former owner of the property to study in detail the legislative requirements of the Civil Code and prepare to assume the rights of the owner.

The ideal option, of course, is to inherit a vehicle by will - there is a less complicated procedure and a more transparent process of transferring property rights. But if your relative did not leave a will, this is not a critical problem: the law allows you to inherit and transfer the car to yourself in the shortest possible time.

How is a car divided between heirs?

Heirs have the right to divide the car both before entering into inheritance and at any time after that.

How can you divide a car:

1. Sell, and divide the money from the sale in accordance with the shares in the inheritance. The disadvantage of this option is the need to pay personal income tax in the amount of 13% of the transaction amount when selling a car that has been owned for less than 3 years.
2. Determine the order of use.
3. One of the heirs receives the car in full, and the other legal successors receive property of similar value.
4. One heir takes the car, and the others receive monetary compensation for their shares.

The heirs can divide the car within three years from the date of opening of the inheritance according to the rules of Articles 1165 - 1170 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (part two of Article 1164 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), and after this period - according to the rules of Articles 252, 1165, 1167 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as follows:

• voluntarily (by agreement)
• through the court.

Regardless of the option chosen, the heirs will have to pay a state fee. To certify the agreement - a state fee to a notary (from 5,000 to 11,000 rubles), in case of a legal dispute - a state fee to the court.

Payment of state duty

Receiving a car as an inheritance involves paying a state fee to the notary. The size of this government fee directly depends on the value of the vehicle determined by the appraiser.
The state tax reaches 0.3 percent of the cost of the car. However, its size cannot exceed 100 thousand rubles. These rates apply to close relatives.

If the inheritance is received by a person with distant family ties, then he will have to pay 0.6 percent, but not more than 1 million rubles.

Re-registration of a car after the death of the owner in the traffic police

The procedure for re-registration includes:

1. Contact the traffic police department.
2. Payment of state duty.
3. Submission of documents and applications.
4. Making changes to PTS, issuing new numbers (at the request of the heir) and issuing STS.

The list of documents for re-registration includes:

• civil passport of the heir;
• certificate of inheritance rights;
• PTS;
• OSAGO policy;
• STS:
• statement.

Receipts for payment of state fees do not need to be attached to the application. But you must pay it before submitting documents.

In 2021, the heir will have to pay for the re-registration of a car:

• for making changes to the PTS – 350 rubles;
• for issuing STS – 500 rubles. (for paper) or 1,500 rub. (for plastic);
• for changing registration plates - 2,000 rubles.

If you pay the state fee through the State Services portal, you can get a 30% discount on the fee amount. But to do this, you need to submit an application electronically and pay the fee by bank transfer.

Documents are submitted to any traffic police department, regardless of the place of registration of the heir. You must first confirm the reception day. Re-registration takes about 1 hour.

Taxation when selling a car

If the new owner does not plan to use the car, he can sell it. The only drawback is the need to pay a tax of 13%.

The purchase and sale agreement is concluded in the usual written form. The parties to the transaction do not have to contact a notary.

Sample car purchase and sale agreement

Heirs who are tax residents of the Russian Federation who have been using the property for more than 3 years are exempt from paying personal income tax. Otherwise, you can reduce the amount of income tax only through a property deduction or, if the car costs less than 250,000 rubles. Personal income tax is paid until July 15 of the following year. Tax return 3-NDFL is submitted no later than April 30.

Important! Non-resident heirs are not entitled to tax exemption.

If the new owner is in no hurry to register the car, then you will need to write an application to terminate the registration of the vehicle.

Tax on a car after the death of the owner

In accordance with the letter of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation dated April 16, 2010 No. 03-05-06-04/86, in the event of the death of the owner of the car, the following situation arises with the payment of transport tax:

• if the taxpayer received a notification about the need to pay the tax (sent through the State Services portal or by mail 30 days before the end of the payment period), then the transport tax debt passes to the heirs;
• if the notification was not received or the Federal Migration Service did not have time to issue the debt for payment, then the heirs are exempt from payment.

Step-by-step instructions for re-registration online through State Services

Expert opinion

Romanov Igor Severinovich

Lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Extensive experience in developing legal documentation.

Re-registration of vehicles using the State Services website not only saves time, but also allows you to pay the state duty with a 30% discount. In order to use the service, you must do the following:

1. Register on the State Services website.
2. In your personal account, select the “vehicle registration” function.
3. Follow the link that appears “registration of documents when changing information about the owner.”
4. Select the “change registration data” category.
5. Detailed step-by-step instructions for further actions appear:

• Select the type of service received (electronically).
• Fill out an application.
• Make an appointment at the traffic police department,
• Send the application, after checking it you will be able to pay the state fee at a discount (this opportunity will be reflected in the “notifications” tab in your personal account within 24 hours).
• Collect the necessary documents and visit the traffic police at the appointed time. The application and payment receipts should be printed and taken with you.
• Receive new documents and license plates after the inspector has checked the car and the originals provided.

• Follow the link “get the service” (to the right of the instructions) and act according to the listed points.

How to sell a car after the owner's death?

Heirs can sell the car immediately after receiving a certificate of inheritance rights. However, it is not necessary to register the car before selling it.

Note! The law prohibits the use and sale of a vehicle within 6 months after the death of the owner.

Procedure for selling a car:

1. Find a buyer.
2. Carry out a vehicle inspection.
3. Draw up a purchase and sale agreement.
4. Registration of an MTPL policy (by the buyer).
5. Registration of the transaction with the traffic police.

Attention! If less than 10 days have passed since the receipt of the certificate of inheritance rights, then information about the heir is not entered into the PTS.

The heir can present to the traffic police when registering the car by the buyer a certificate of inheritance rights or a copy thereof. The document will be returned to him upon completion of registration.

How to inherit a car: stages of registration

The heir has the right to contact any city department, regardless of his registration address. According to traffic police regulations, the procedure takes no more than 30 minutes, but usually lasts much longer, sometimes several working days. To avoid queues and slightly reduce the duration of the procedure, you should make an appointment in advance.

Stages of registration of a car received as an inheritance:

1. Collection of documents
2. Make an appointment
3. Submitting an application
4. Payment of state duties
5. Receiving STS, PTS with new data (if issued on a form) and license plates

Life situations

Let's consider situations that may arise during the process of inheriting a car.

How to restore a title after the death of the owner?

To inherit a car, a notary may request a title. This is not the only document that can be presented to the notary's office. In return, you can submit a purchase and sale agreement or STS.

Subsequently, the heir will need a PTS. Without it, you cannot register a car, issue a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, or sell a car. If the document is lost or its location is unknown, then a duplicate can be issued.

Art. 14 Federal Law No. 283 of 2021 provides for the possibility of obtaining a duplicate by the owner or his representative. To restore the document, you will need to contact the MREO OGIBDD of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the region of residence of the deceased. The state fee for issuing a duplicate is 800 rubles. (clause 36 of article 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

How to register a car after the death of my husband?

The procedure for re-registering a car after the death of a husband has its own characteristics. If the vehicle was purchased during marriage, the surviving spouse must:

1. Contact a notary to allocate the marital share. As a general rule, spouses are entitled to ½ share of every property purchased during the marriage.
2. Claim the priority right to inherit the car as a co-owner.
3. Pay other heirs compensation for their shares in the ownership of the car.
4. Pay the state fee.
5. Obtain a certificate of inheritance rights.
6. Re-register the car with the traffic police.

Thus, the spouse can become the sole owner of the vehicle.

A car to inherit for several heirs?

A car is an indivisible thing. Therefore, several heirs can own it only under the right of common joint or common shared ownership. This situation is popular if one of the heirs is a minor child or an incapacitated citizen. That is, a person who legally cannot use the car for its intended purpose. But he has no opportunity to ask for compensation for his share.

By law, 2 or more heirs can use a car, determining the order of use:

• voluntarily;
• through the court.

But in practice, it is better for one of the heirs to pay compensation to the others or sell the car altogether and split the money.

Is it possible to drive a deceased relative's car?

Definitely not. From the moment the owner of the car dies, all documents issued in his name become invalid. These include PTS, STS, OSAGO and CASCO agreements, and a power of attorney for the use of a car. Therefore, the use of a vehicle after the death of the owner is prohibited.

Naturally, when checking documents, the traffic police inspector will not notice the catch. But when he checks the database, the driver faces serious problems. Since May 2021, information about the death of a car owner is received by the traffic police directly from the Federal Tax Service. The traffic police removes the car from registration without warning the heirs.

Therefore, a citizen who finds himself in such a situation will be issued a fine for using a vehicle without registration. In 2021 it ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 rubles. (Article 19.22 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

Of course, putting a car in a garage for 6 months before registering an inheritance is not easy. Especially if the vehicle was registered to the deceased, but in fact it was used by another family member.

But in the event of an accident, the driver will not be able to use insurance; he will have to compensate the second participant in the accident for damages from his own funds, as well as repair the car at his own expense.

The law does not make an exception for the spouse of the deceased. If the car was purchased during marriage, but is registered in the name of the deceased spouse, the surviving spouse cannot apply to the traffic police for re-registration before the expiration of 6 months.

This is why buying a car by proxy is a bad idea. If the legal owner dies, the car is inherited. The actual owner loses rights to it.

Package of documents for re-registration

In order to inherit a car, the heir must submit the following list of documents to the notary office:

• a document that can confirm the death of a relative. Such a paper will determine the moment of opening the inheritance;
• evidence that the applicant is related to the deceased;
• copy and original passport;
• registration certificate for the car, confirming the fact that it is the property of the testator;
• vehicle registration certificate;
• an extract on the results of the property assessment to calculate the amount of state duty;
• a will with a special notarial note stating that no changes were made to it;
• check for repayment of the state fee.

Lawyer's answers to private questions

After the death of my father, I inherited 2 cars. The heirs were my mother, me, grandparents. We received a certificate of inheritance rights. Each received a ¼ share of each car. How to register them with the traffic police?

You can register in the name of only one of the owners. Therefore, you need to decide to whom the cars will be registered. If the co-owners do not have a common opinion, then discuss the possibility of buying out shares.

Finished the inheritance registration after the death of her husband. All property, including the car, was divided between me and 2 minor children of 1/3 share. How can I sell my car now?

Contact the guardianship department to obtain permission for the transaction. The money received from the sale of shares owned by children will have to be deposited into their personal bank accounts. If the guardianship department refuses to issue permission, then go to court. Justify the need to sell by saying that the car will not be used by children for many years, during which time it will lose value or become completely unusable.

The father was in his second marriage. He bought a car before marriage. A month ago he died. And his wife continues to use the car. There is wear and tear and the value decreases. How to stop this?

Contact a notary to ensure the safety of the inheritance.

A married mother bought 2 cars and registered them in her husband’s name. She died 2 months ago, and he is hiding these cars from me. And he and I inherit all the property in equal shares. What to do to receive an inheritance correctly?

Apply to the court to allocate the mother's marital share in these cars. Since they were married at the time of purchase, he is entitled to ½ share in each car. But the second half must be part of the inheritance. You are entitled to ¼ share of each car. To go to court, you do not need documents for the car; the court will request them from the defendant.

I want to buy a car from a girl who inherited it. She did not register him with the traffic police. Are there any problems with this car?

Registration is not a requirement. But difficulties may arise when identifying heirs who have not assumed their rights. The car may also be pledged. Please check the information carefully before concluding a transaction.

Does the heir have the right to use the car before it is registered as ownership?

Currently, there is no need to issue a power of attorney to drive a car. Having received the relevant documents for it from the owner of the vehicle, you can safely drive it. With the death of the owner, the person who received the right to use the car from him during his lifetime is obliged to return the car. The vehicle is subject to inclusion in the inheritance until the claimants to the property of the deceased are identified. Third parties who used the vehicle, but are not related to the heirs, are obliged to transfer it either to future heirs or to a notary.

If no one claims the property of the deceased, no difficulties arise. In such a situation, you should contact a notary - he will issue a certificate of actual entry into the inheritance before drawing up a document on the right to it. In this case, the heir’s ownership of the car will be legal. Even if you missed the six-month deadline for entering into an inheritance, the right to own a vehicle can be established in court. In this case, we are talking about actual inheritance, since the person who actually uses the car maintained it, did maintenance, etc.

Other persons who claim to inherit a car and who disagree with the situation can go to court.

Procedure for submitting an application on the portal

Those who have created a verified user account will be able to use the method. After this, you should prepare the required documentation to fill out the application and wait for approval from the traffic police. The list of papers includes:

• vehicle owner's passport;
• car passport;
• vehicle registration certificate;
• insurance policy.

When all the documents are in hand, you should begin re-registration. This means sending an application to the traffic police department, where you should subsequently go to enter new information into the vehicle passport and receive a ready-made STS in the name of the car buyer.

Instructions for completing an application include the following steps:

• log in to the portal using your username and password;
• in the category, open the item “Vehicle registration”;
• click on the link “Registration of documents upon purchase”;
• select “Registration of a motor vehicle” from the list provided;
• Click on the “Get service” command.

The completed actions will lead to the opening of a form where data about the new owner and car is entered. You should carefully indicate passport data, registration and information about the vehicle (series, PTS number, registration certificate, VIN combination, body number, color, horsepower, etc.).

Important: it does not allow you to re-register the car to a new owner. It is suitable for those who change their last name, place of residence or other information to be entered into the traffic police database.

How to re-register a car through government services to the heir to the buyer

You just need to provide documentary evidence of your location in another region. The presence of the previous owner is no longer required to deregister the car.

It will also be possible to submit the application, as well as all the necessary documents, through the State Services portal or through the MFC. But it is worth noting that after submitting the application and documents you will still have to visit the traffic police office. Since this is where the production of the new STS and other documents is carried out.

If you can’t figure out on your own how to re-register a car to a relative without selling it through State Services, then the best solution would be to get legal advice. Today, such consultations are present in all major cities.

It is important to note that this process has its own subtleties and features.

• According to the will.
• In law.