Q: Dad passed away. what can I do with his cars?

A: You mention a probate? If this is a small estate there probably isn't any need to do a probate. Probate in Oregon is not required by the law every time someone dies. You can often settle the estate without a formal proceeding. If you run into a challenge, like you can't access a bank account, then the second level of dealing with this would be a small estate's affidavit. Only if the amount of property exceeds the financial limits of what a small estate's affidavit can handle, would you need to consider a formal probate.

Your first step should be to consult with an experienced attorney that handles probate and after death property transfers that don't necessarily include probate. If the attorney tells you that you can do this, you may be able to just seek to change the title of the cars by going to DMV. DMV will allow the people who would be entitled to inherit the cars, pursuant to a Will or Oregon's Intestate Statutes if there is no Will, to sign an affidavit indicating that they have the rights to inherit the cars. The DMV will charge a fee to change the title over. Now this is assuming that there are no loans against the cars. If there are loans DMV can't change the titles.

Once the car's are out of your father's name you and your siblings can do what you want. Distribute the cars to one of you, sell them, give them away if they are junk, etc. Just make sure that whoever drives any of the cars first calls their insurance company and specifically adds the car to their policy so that the car and the driver is covered if there is an accident.

Again, I strongly recommend that you consult with an attorney first as you don't want to go to DMV if you need to do a probate or a small estate's affidavit. You need to figure out with legal advice what the best plan is.

A: If you are proceeding with a small estate affidavit, the claiming successor of the small estate can have the cars removed from the rental property, assuming you have the keys, and either complete and submit to DMV an affidavit of heirship for each car or sell the cars and give the buyer a certified copy of the complete small estate affidavit and a bill of sale. The new buyer can then register the car with DMV. Please note the small estate affidavit should include a description of the cars.