Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

One problem you will have is renewing the registration and insurance. Let's say you are in a wreck and the insurance company sends a check payable to your father. Of, if the insurance company knows your father died, they may refuse to pay on the claim. Plus, if you get stopped by the police for whatever reason and you are driving a car registered to a dead person, especially if you renewed the registration by mail after his death, you may face some trouble.

What Mr. Reed is trying to say is you need to open a probate case and have ownership transferred to you. The lender may or may not let you keep the loan. That is not a legal issue. Many banks these days are lending on used cars, however, so that may be an option.

DMV has a simplified way to transfer title on vehicles in small estates. Usually, there is no need for a full probate just for a car. Actually, transferring title to a vehicle is kind is startlingly easy.