Q: In MD we were told that all we needed was the death certificate to sell a car that 2 people owned
Someone else told us that we needed a letter of administration is that true?
A: Most car titles are held jointly, with right of survival, meaning if one owner dies, the surviving owner becomes the sole owner. That is the default ownership status if not otherwise stated. The proof you need is simply the death certificate in that scenario to prove the one owner is deceased. There is no requirement that the survivor have a new title issued in their sole name, but it will make selling or refinancing the vehicle later easier since they will not need to prove the death of the other listed owner. Simply take the death certificate to the MVA and file a request to issue a new certificate of title and registration in only the living owner's name. If the title is not held as joint tenants with right of survival, but as "tenants in common" (unlikely), then only the Personal Repesentative of the estate of the deceased owner can sign over the title of the estate's one-half interest in the car to the other owner, or to a buyer of the vehicle.
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