My spouse recently passed away..in Georgia. He had a motorcycle with the loan in his name only. Would it be wise for me to let the finance c...

Question

My spouse recently passed away..in Georgia. He had a motorcycle with the loan in his name only. Would it be wise for me to let the finance company know and ask them to come get it. The motorcycle has no use to me.

Answer

I'm sorry for your loss. Since there are many issues you may have to address, before you call creditors, meet with a lawyer to determine what you should, and should not do.

Answer

I agree with Attorney Ashman overall. It is emotionally tough after the death of a loved one and you should not be making important decisions without getting some input from a lawyer. Friends and family will do for providing sympathy at this tough time, but getting legal advice from a well meaning but non-lawyer friend is not the way to go.

Should you give up the motorcycle? It depends. What is the bike worth? If you do not know, get it appraised at a local motorcycle dealer or do your homework online. What is still owed? If the bike is worth less than what is owed, it probably makes sense to call the finance company to come and get it. If the bike is worth more than is owed, then it makes no sense to give that equity to the lender. While the bike is useless to you, money is not. And if there are other obligations in the estate (or even other heirs) then you have no right to give away their share of the equity.

If the bike is sold, you will not be able to do that unless you are appointed as the personal representative of the estate. So you need to get a consult with a probate attorney who practices in the county where your husband lived just prior to his death. You need to review whether your husband had a will, if there are any children or other heirs, and have handy a list of all assets owned by your husband (either solely or jointly), their value and whether they had a lien. The attorney will also need a list of debts. After reviewing the information, the attorney should be able to advise whether it is necessary to probate an estate and can assist you with that. The attorney can then advise whether it makes sense to sell the motorcycle or turn it over to the lender.