Q: If my parents passed away and the cars are in probate is it illegal to drive them if I am executor?
A: The court-appointed fiduciary (executor/administrator) is not generally forbidden from driving a vehicle owned by the estate. However, you should make sure it is properly registered and has insurance.
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A: You need to take care that both (a) the vehicles are insured as assets of the estate, and (b) you are driving them consistent with your duties as a fiduciary. If you are driving them to drop them off at a dealer for sale or you are driving them to and from a repair shop to be repaired to fix them up for sale by the estate or you are driving them to their final destination (the heir that has inherited them), that is OK. If you are driving them for your own personal, non-estate-related use, that is improper. If you want to do that you should enter into an arms-length contract to rent them from the estate. To do that you might need to have the court appoint a temporary executor to enter into that agreement with you (which might not be worth the effort). Even if you are the sole heir of the estate, you still need to take care that you do things "by the book" because their are other stakeholders whose interests might be affected, such as creditors of the estate.
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