RANDOM - legal/tickets

xsabrinalynn

Just looking for suggestions/advice/thoughts:

I recieved a letter from a debt collection agency today claiming I owe $500 in tickets for my DAD's car from January and if I don't pay within an amount of time they "may" suspend my license and this IS being reported to the credit agencies. My dad passed away in August of last year and my mother in October of last year. Since, the car has been at my sister's house (on the street, where parking is allowe 24/7) and I don't even live there. The car is in my father's name ONLY.

I don't want to contact the collection agency first - they'll tell me whatever to collect their money.

Should I call the villiage of the city where the tickets were issued? I wasn't even aware tickets were issued for this car (six within two weeks) and of course my worthless siblings probably knew about the tickets but didn't tell me.

Should I call the DMV/courthouse to see if they actually CAN suspend MY license? And what happens to the car/title once someone passes? I am the only one they can link to my father - I believe - I am the youngest and the only one with his last name as my sister who's house the car is currently at is not his biological daughter.

I just don't know how to go about solving this because I am obviously not (and cannot afford to) pay these tickets. Not looking for "legal" advice, just looking for suggestions on how you would go about this.

Thank you

halobender

Call them up and laugh at them? That's basically what I would do. The car's not in your name. You have no legal obligation to it ... however it should have been included in the estate when he passed, did anyone in particular inherit the majority of it or were there any specifics as to what was to have happened with the car? I notice that your mom passed not long after, I imagine she would have gotten the majority of the estate at that time, but what about her estate? Also point out that street parking is allowed, though it could be a registration issue.

The DMV could probably point you in the correct direction of who to contact, but at this point it may take contacting a lawyer to actually get them to drop it, as they'll feel that money is owed to them.

linz1125

Is there a lawyer who has been handling your parents estate? Maybe that can give you advice. But I would move that car ASAP to avoid any more tickets.

UncleMac

The curious part would be... how they got your contact information if the vehicle is still registered in your dad's name? Speaking of which, you might need to do something about that as part of settling the estate.

xsabrinalynn

My parents were living with my sister (lots of financial issues before all this) so the only "estate" I guess would be this car. My dad had no money saved or anything to leave to my mom/me.

The tickets are listed as "parked blocking snow removal" from January.

xsabrinalynn

OH not to mention, I CAN'T move the car because my dip**** brother took the engine out and sold it. The car is no longer parked on the street though, it is parked in the parking lot of their townhomes. And I just learned the plates expired at the end of July so I'm sure that'll eventually cause more problems.

My sister "misplaced" the title, so I don't even know what to do with this damn car.

halobender

So ... did they leave the car to anyone? If not the estate should generally just be handled by the state, then, if I'm not mistaken (and assuming you live in the US, but bearing in mind that we probably don't live in the same state and such things can differ) and doled out equally to remaining next of kin or auctioned to clear debts ... so ... maybe they just need to take over the car ... Even without an engine it's worth something. (Just considerably less, next to nothing and probably not even close to $500.)

But in that instance just say "Oh my gosh, someone stole the engine, it was probably my ne'er-do-well brother!" and let him deal with it

This site has a pretty good answer in a relative sense, may give you some food for thought (though it's not really much more than has been said here already): http://www.justanswer.com/estate-law/2bvhs-mother-died-without-will-owned-nothing-personal.html

UncleMac

Tough situation... My condolences for the loss of both of your parents, especially in such a short time... I wish I could give you some wise advice on how to deal with the car and/or the tickets. Lawyers are expensive but it might be helpful to protect you from any unpaid debt that your parents left, including the tickets. Good luck!!

xsabrinalynn

So ... did they leave the car to anyone? If not the estate should generally just be handled by the state, then, if I'm not mistaken (and assuming you live in the US, but bearing in mind that we probably don't live in the same state and such things can differ) and doled out equally to remaining next of kin or auctioned to clear debts ... so ... maybe they just need to take over the car ... Even without an engine it's worth something. (Just considerably less, next to nothing and probably not even close to $500.)

But in that instance just say "Oh my gosh, someone stole the engine, it was probably my ne'er-do-well brother!" and let him deal with it

This site has a pretty good answer in a relative sense, may give you some food for thought (though it's not really much more than has been said here already): http://www.justanswer.com/estate-law/2bvhs-mother-died-without-will-owned-nothing-personal.html

No, the car wasn't left to anyone. My father passed away of cancer - we were told he had a year to live and passed away a month after he told us. No will had been created yet. My mother also hadn't created her will and unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack.

I live in Illinois. Hell, they can take the damn car if the want it!

I decided I am going to call the village where the tickets were issued and play dumb and claim I had no idea my car has any outstanding tickets and when they look up MY car there will be none and see where it goes from there I guess!

I will take a look at that site! Thanks.

halobender

Man, that really sucks about your folks ... I really do hate to hear that you're going through something like this, because it's hard enough for your folks to pass, but then to have to deal with stupid things such as this? Gosh, I can't even imagine.

I was wondering where you were at; I figured with the mention of village you were either in Europe or Illinois (seriously, I've never seen a village outside of Illinois ... which is kind of funny to me).

Honestly, playing dumb sounds like a GREAT idea. I'm not sure where they'll take it once they see that it's not your car. My guess is they'll be stymied, then try to say "Well, you have to take care of this, blah blah blah" to which you can, likely, scoff and state that they have little to no legal recourse ... the last thing city governments need is to get into some stupid drawn out legal battle they'll likely lose. Tell them as far as you're concerned they can take the car for payment for the debts if they like but that you'll have nothing to do with it beyond that.

If at all possible you should most certainly try to at least speak to legal aid beforehand and see what their suggestion of recourse would be. Hopefully you live in a city where such a thing is available.

Best of luck and I hope you post the outcome to this, I would very much like to see how this works out (if for no other reason than it could happen to anyone, and it would be best to have an idea of what might come of it, even if we are in different states). I'll cross my fingers for ya.

xsabrinalynn

I called the villiage, played dumb and she looked up the tickets and said my father's name. I explained he passed away and the car isn't in my name. She said if I recieved this letter, they must have done some "digging" and found I am responsible for this. Also, they were apparently three scheduled court dates for this as well.

This letter is the first I've heard of these tickets and now apparently court was involved as well.

OF COURSE the lady who I need to speak to about this won't be back in until Thursday. The operator said I can reschedule a court date one last time if I want.

If I don't have $500 to pay these tickets, what the hell makes you think I can afford court and all the ridiculous fees?!

So I have until Thursday to let this bother me now. Great.

I am looking into free legal advice, as I cannot afford a lawyer. If I find out they CAN pin these tickets on me but CANNOT suspend my license because of it... then I'm done even worrying about it. Put it towards my credit, it's already screwed at this point (also due to other things involving my parents death ie; paying for memorials and funerals).

Will keep you updated

halobender

No matter what I don't think you're "responsible" for it, you're just the only person they found that they think they can pin it on. Don't buy into it. No matter what they tell you, maintain that you have absolutely no responsibility toward a car that's not in your name, and if you were responsible for it you should have been notified long before there were $500 in fees and court dates.

UncleMac

No matter what I don't think you're "responsible" for it, you're just the only person they found that they think they can pin it on. Don't buy into it. No matter what they tell you, maintain that you have absolutely no responsibility toward a car that's not in your name, and if you were responsible for it you should have been notified long before there were $500 in fees and court dates.

Agreed. When you finally speak to the 'right' person, tell them that you are not financially responsible for your father or his estate, including any cars registered in his name.

xsabrinalynn

No matter what I don't think you're "responsible" for it, you're just the only person they found that they think they can pin it on. Don't buy into it. No matter what they tell you, maintain that you have absolutely no responsibility toward a car that's not in your name, and if you were responsible for it you should have been notified long before there were $500 in fees and court dates.

Agreed. When you finally speak to the 'right' person, tell them that you are not financially responsible for your father or his estate, including any cars registered in his name.

I hope you're right! I am going during the week to the police department AND villiage to discuss this. I've been doing research, but you can never fully 100% believe what you read on the internet, and everything has said unless appointed in a will, I am not responisble. But then there were a few that said "some debt" I could be responsible for as next of kin. Monday, I am calling legal hotlines and going to call law departments at colleges because I've heard they offer free legal advice.

ryansgram

Are you sure they're not trying to scam you? My friend got a phone call that said she owed money somewhere and if she didn't pay they were going to call the police. She found out later it was a scam. Check into it further.

magj0y

I would go to the DMV \. Even if there is no existing title, the DMV should have a record of it. Get a death certificate for your mom and dad. Since your brother sold a part of your dad's car and you had no financial gain, he is technically the legal owner of it.
If you know who bought the engine, contact them and get a notary stating this. Your bank (or the new owner's bank) may provide free notarization. A notary of the public is typically less than $20. You may even get your bro to sign it, just don't tell him the whole story.

xsabrinalynn

Are you sure they're not trying to scam you? My friend got a phone call that said she owed money somewhere and if she didn't pay they were going to call the police. She found out later it was a scam. Check into it further.

I called the village where the tickets were issued and they have it on file. I also called my sister and she said there were tickets, she just ignored them. Go figure.

xsabrinalynn

I would go to the DMV \. Even if there is no existing title, the DMV should have a record of it. Get a death certificate for your mom and dad. Since your brother sold a part of your dad's car and you had no financial gain, he is technically the legal owner of it.
If you know who bought the engine, contact them and get a notary stating this. Your bank (or the new owner's bank) may provide free notarization. A notary of the public is typically less than $20. You may even get your bro to sign it, just don't tell him the whole story.

Unfortunately, they sold to to a random person.

xsabrinalynn

Going to the police department today to hopefully get some things figured out! Wish me luck

UncleMac

Good luck!!

halobender

Good luck, Sabrina ... I hope that the police are able to help!

xsabrinalynn

Alright - TALK ABOUT A STRESSFUL DAY. so I didn't ever make it to the police deparment... I got ahold of the lady at the villiage who I was supposed to speak to.

Not only are there these outstanding tickets... my sister also failed to mention the villiage put a towing sticker on it and the villiage would be towing it MONDAY. Last week 4 more tickets were issued (expired plates and car abandonement - the car has a broken window and FOUR flat tires). Think about the stress I would have had then with them trying to hit me up for towing fees and daily charges for being impounded!!! But I'll get to that in a minute.

The lady at the villiage told me I recieved these letters because they were told the car was put into my name after my dad's passing. False. She then told me what I need to do is write a letter explaining my situation and provide any proof that goes along with it (ie; death certificate) and mail it to her. She then would take that to a hearing and present it to a judge where it will **hopefully** be voided.

I called my sister asking this whole towing stickers & what not. I THEN find out the damn car isn't even in HER parking lot when she sees it daily. THEY FRICKIN MOVED IT TO THE ASSOCIATION'S CLUBHOUSE. NO WONDER theres so many damn tickets. Is this a joke?!! She claims she has no idea how long the towing stickers have been on it because she hasn't seen the car in months. Oh, well thanks.

Luckily, I work at a car dealer and they called in a favor at a junkyard they deal with. Got it picked up today (also got $300 for it!!! at least thats a positive in my situation. My sister *****ED ME OUT about "selling the car to profit from it". WTF, REALLY?). While waiting for the tow truck to arrive, I found tickets just sitting in the back of the car. AGAIN, IS THIS A JOKE??? I happened to see my sister's boyfriend walking by and he told me they've been receiving notices for MONTHS at their house in MY name. Really? Thanks for letting me know NOW.

Anyway, got the car towed and taken care of so no more tickets will be given. I am in the process of writing letters and sending it through certified mail. The hearing is Monday so I won't know much until I receive the letter on details of it.

I'm also pretty sure it's ilegal for the collection agency that sent me the letter to threaten to suspend my license and report it to the crediting agencies when it isn't my debt. Looking into how to go about reporting the agency.

Life is grand, isn't it?

Will update after the hearing

helenecg

I am writing from Canada, so the laws are likely different, however, collection agencies are notorious for digging and advising anyone related to a debt (even if they are not liable) that they will take legal action. They then provide this information to their client, in this case the village, who gives them 3rd party permission to take legal action. A judge will normally throw the case out, but most people will pay it or settle for a lesser amount, because they are worried about their credit, additional fines or going to court. Your state may have laws about what collection agencies can and cannot do. I would also call your representative (councillor or senator) and ask for assistance in this matter.

UncleMac

Good for you! It sounds like you're finally putting things into order!!

If you haven't already, record the VIN of the vehicle so if you need to get proof from the state that the vehicle is still registered in your dad's name (not yours), you will need the VIN to do so. If you don't know where to find the VIN, the tow company or the junk yard can help as they will need it in order to report the vehicle as being scrap.

sz8soon

Holy shat balls lady! You've been given a ton to deal with. my condolences on the loss of your parents. also send my condolences for having to deal with two siblings who seem to not give a crap about how their actions or lack there of have flucked you over.

(hugs) to you and I hope it all turns out in your favor!

PayneAS

bumping because I'm curious to hear the resolution!

xsabrinalynn

I am writing from Canada, so the laws are likely different, however, collection agencies are notorious for digging and advising anyone related to a debt (even if they are not liable) that they will take legal action. They then provide this information to their client, in this case the village, who gives them 3rd party permission to take legal action. A judge will normally throw the case out, but most people will pay it or settle for a lesser amount, because they are worried about their credit, additional fines or going to court. Your state may have laws about what collection agencies can and cannot do. I would also call your representative (councillor or senator) and ask for assistance in this matter.

I am trying to look into the laws. I had asked a question on a free law guru site about this and someone mentioned it may actually violate some debt privacy act or something - so I am in the process of looking into this. If the court does throw it out, I still have to watch to make sure this doesn't end up on my credit. No one is getting a dime out me!! Daddy raised a strong girl, I won't back down

halobender

Wow ... somehow it's your audacity to get $300 for the car? Your sister is awfully terrible, it seems.

I can't believe they wouldn't have let you know that they were getting notices ... did they somehow get the car put in your name? Because it sounds like they're trying to screw you over for some reason (possibly because they're awful).

I don't see how it could possibly be found that you're liable for this. Best wishes in getting a judge with a brain. (Ack, I'll cross my fingers and toes for you.)

xsabrinalynn

Wow ... somehow it's your audacity to get $300 for the car? Your sister is awfully terrible, it seems.

I can't believe they wouldn't have let you know that they were getting notices ... did they somehow get the car put in your name? Because it sounds like they're trying to screw you over for some reason (possibly because they're awful).

I don't see how it could possibly be found that you're liable for this. Best wishes in getting a judge with a brain. (Ack, I'll cross my fingers and toes for you.)

For a while, I was wondering if they messed with the title. I texted my sister saying "no one had signed my dad's title over to anyone, right?" and she said "no, it's still in his name" and I locked the texts so they can't be deleted in case something comes up and they try to screw me over for "selling" the car.

xsabrinalynn

This waiting game is awful. The hearing was last night and now I'm waiting on a letter to know if I'm "guilty" or "not-guilty". Hoping it comes before the weekend!

halobender

Ugh! Seriously ... they didn't make a decision at that time which you could simply check into?

Let us know! I hope it comes through before the weekend ...