Q: Do I have to give him the car
My grandpa passed six months ago I had the car and title which was signed already by my grandpa and he passed shortly after, I had not registered car yet I decided to wait awhile pending a will, which was not found so I registered and titled car in my name fast forward six months later his brother says he found the will and the car is left to him in the will and is threatening courts do I have to give him the car Do I have any options.
A:
Since I have not seen any of the documents, let me give you some general principles.
The overall purpose of a probate is to 1.) identify and collect the assets; 2.) pay the taxes of the decedent; 3.) pay the taxes of the decedent; and finally 4.) distribute any remaining assets as best as possible according to the instructions provided in the will.
If an asset has already been distributed before a person's death, then it can't be collected for later distribution since it is not subject to the terms of the will.
In law school, I remember hearing about a case where a Husband specifically left his Harley-Davidson motorcycle to his best friend. Unfortunately, before he died he sold the Harley and bought an Indian motorcycle. However, the Husband did not update the terms of his will. When the family probated the will, the friend filed a claim for the motorcycle, but the Probate Court ruled against the friend since the Husband did not own a "Harley-Davidson" at the time of his death.
So the first question that needs to be asked is: "Did your Grandpa own a car at the time of his death?" If he did not, then your Grandpa's estate does not have a car subject to the terms of the will being probated.
However, I need to caution you - your situation is very fact-specific, and I strongly recommend that you consult with a lawyer to review the documents in more detail.
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