Transferring a Car After Someone Dies in North Carolina

The Division of Motor Vehicles transfers title and registration on a certified copy of a probated will, letters of administration, or a clerk's certificate assigning the vehicle to the surviving spouse as part of the spousal year's allowance. If the decedent died without a will and no administrator has qualified (or left a small estate with a purported will that the clerk finds does not justify probate, and the will is filed with the clerk), the DMV may transfer the vehicle on an affidavit signed by all heirs. The affidavit states the decedent's name and date of death, that no administration is pending or expected, that all debts are paid (or the proceeds will pay them), the names, ages and relationships of all heirs and devisees, and the new owner's name and address. A surviving parent may sign for minor or incompetent children without a guardian. Creditors' liens are not affected.