Transfer of Vehicle by Operation of Law; Termination of Interest; Joint Interest With Right of Survivorship

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Motor Vehicles and Traffic
  4. Certificates of Title, Security Interests, and Liens
  5. Certificates of Title
  6. Transfer of Vehicle by Operation of Law; Termination of Interest; Joint Interest With Right of Survivorship

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  1. If the interest of an owner in a vehicle passes to another other than by voluntary transfer, the transferee shall, except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, mail or deliver to the commissioner or his appropriate authorized county tag agent the last certificate of title, if available; proof of the transfer; and his application for a new certificate in the form the commissioner prescribes, together with the application for change of registration for the vehicle so that the title application and other documents shall be received by the commissioner or his appropriate authorized county tag agent no later than 30 days from the date that the transferee acquired the interest in the vehicle. If the title application and other documents are not received within that time, the transferee shall be required to pay a penalty of $10.00 in addition to the ordinary title fee provided for by this chapter. If the documents submitted in support of the title application are rejected, the party submitting the documents shall have 60 days from the date of initial rejection to resubmit the documents required by the commissioner for the issuance of title. Should the documents not be properly resubmitted within the 60 day period, there shall be an additional $10.00 penalty assessed, and the owner of the vehicle shall be required to remove immediately the license plate of the vehicle and return same to the commissioner. The license plate shall be deemed to have expired at 12:00 Midnight of the sixtieth day following the initial rejection of the documents, if the documents have not been resubmitted as required in this subsection. If the last certificate of title is not available for transfer under this Code section, then the transferee shall forward such proof of transfer as the commissioner may by regulation prescribe.
  2. If the interest of the owner is terminated, whether the vehicle is sold pursuant to a power contained in a security agreement or by legal process at the instance of the holder either of a security interest or a lien, the transferee shall promptly mail or deliver to the commissioner or his appropriate authorized county tag agent the last certificate of title, if available; proof of transfer; his application for a new certificate, in the form prescribed by the commissioner; and an affidavit made by or on behalf of the holder of a security interest in or lien on the vehicle with respect to the termination of the interest of the owner, so as to have the application and supporting documents submitted to the commissioner or his appropriate authorized county tag agent within 30 days from the date the transferee acquired the interest in the vehicle. If the application and supporting documents are not submitted within that time, the transferee shall be required to pay a penalty of $10.00 in addition to the ordinary title fee prescribed by this chapter. If the documents submitted in support of the title application are rejected, the transferee submitting the documents shall have 60 days from the date of initial rejection to resubmit the documents required by the commissioner for the issuance of title. If the documents are not properly resubmitted within 60 days, there shall be an additional $10.00 penalty assessed, and the owner of the vehicle shall be required to remove immediately the license plate of the vehicle and return same to the commissioner. The license plate shall be deemed to have expired at 12:00 Midnight of the sixtieth day following the initial rejection of the documents, if the documents have not been resubmitted as required under this subsection. If the holder of a security interest or lien succeeds to the interest of the owner and holds the vehicle for resale, he need not secure a new certificate of title but, upon transfer, shall promptly deliver to the transferee the last certificate of title, if available, and such other documents as the commissioner may require by rule or regulation.
  3. A person holding a certificate of title whose interest in the vehicle has been extinguished or transferred other than by voluntary transfer shall mail or deliver the certificate to the commissioner or the commissioner's duly authorized county tag agent upon request of the commissioner or authorized county tag agent. The delivery of the certificate pursuant to the request of the commissioner or authorized tag agent does not affect the rights of the person surrendering the certificate; and the action of the commissioner or authorized tag agent in issuing a new certificate of title as provided in this article is not conclusive upon the rights of an owner or lienholder named in the old certificate.
  4. In the event of transfer as upon inheritance, devise, or bequest, upon receipt of an application for a new certificate of title with the required fee, the last certificate of title, if available, and a certified copy of a will or letters of administration or, if no administration is to be had on the estate, an affidavit by the applicant to the effect that the estate is not indebted and the surviving spouse, if any, and the heirs, if any, have amicably agreed among themselves upon a division of the estate or a certificate from the judge of the probate court showing that the motor vehicle registered in the name of the decedent owner has been assigned to the decedent's survivors as part of their year's support, the commissioner shall issue to the person or persons shown by such evidence to be entitled thereto the certificate of title for the vehicle.
    1. In the event of transfer under a will when the motor vehicle was the decedent's only asset, upon receipt of an application for a new certificate of title accompanied by the required fee, the last certificate of title, if available, and an affidavit by the applicant to the effect that the motor vehicle was owned by the decedent and was the decedent's only asset and was not encumbered, that under the will the applicant is entitled to receive title to such motor vehicle, that no application for the administration of the estate of the deceased or the probate of such will is to be had, and that the estate is not indebted and the surviving spouse, if any, and the heirs, if any, are sui juris and have amicably agreed that title to said vehicle be issued to the applicant, the commissioner shall issue to the person or persons shown by such evidence to be entitled thereto the certificate of title for the vehicle.
    2. The commissioner shall prescribe the form of the affidavit to be used in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
  6. A joint interest in a vehicle with survivorship in two or more persons may be created in the manner provided by subsection (a) of Code Section 44-6-190; and, if a certificate of title has been issued to two or more persons having such a joint interest with survivorship, then, in the event of the death of such a joint owner, the surviving such owner or owners, if any, need not secure a new certificate of title.

(Ga. L. 1961, p. 68, § 17; Ga. L. 1962, p. 79, § 10; Ga. L. 1981, p. 883, § 7; Code 1981, §40-3-33; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 40; Ga. L. 1986, p. 281, § 1; Code 1981, §40-3-34, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 3; Ga. L. 1997, p. 739, § 17; Ga. L. 1998, p. 510, § 1; Ga. L. 2007, p. 652, § 11/HB 518.)

Law reviews.

- For annual survey of law of wills, trusts, and administration of estates, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 417 (1986).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Termination of debtor's ownership interest.

- O.C.G.A. § 40-3-34(b) clearly recognizes that a debtor's ownership of collateral is not terminated until the sale of the collateral by the secured creditor or by legal process; therefore, an automobile that was repossessed pre-petition, but which had not been sold by the creditor pre-petition, was the property of the debtor's Chapter 13 bankruptcy estate. Rozier v. Motors Acceptance Corp. (In re Rozier), 283 Bankr. 810 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2002), aff'd sub nom., Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Rozier, 290 Bankr. 910 (M.D. Ga. 2003).

When a debtor's vehicle was part of the debtor's bankruptcy estate under Georgia law, return of the vehicle was proper despite the creditor's objections as ownership remained with the debtor until the creditor disposed of or elected to retain the collateral in accordance with the procedures of the Georgia Uniform Commercial Code, O.C.G.A. Ch. 4, T. 11. Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Rozier, 278 Ga. 52, 597 S.E.2d 367 (2004).

Cited in Flournoy v. City Fin. of Columbus, Inc., 679 F.2d 821 (11th Cir. 1982).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Transfer of title by executor of deceased.

- When title to a vehicle is in a deceased person, and the person has died testate, the executor, in order to transfer the title, must present a certified copy of the will to the commissioner; if the former owner has died intestate, the administrator must present a copy of the letters of administration. 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U70-57.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 45.

C.J.S.

- 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, §§ 75 et seq., 96 et seq.

U.L.A.

- Uniform Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title and Anti-Theft Act (U.L.A.) § 16.


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