What to do with a car when a relative dies? Finance, scrapping, insurance and road tax explained
THE death of a loved one can lead to a mountain of paperwork including dealing with a car.
And the last thing you want during a bereavement is to be hounded for payments on a motor.
If you leave it too long, though, you could find the vehicle clamped for being untaxed or uninsured leading to a hefty fine to get it moving again.
Fortunately there are several options for what to do with a car that's left behind - and they're actually fairly straightforward.
If your relative owned the car outright, you can transfer ownership by contacting the DVLA and then either sell it on or continue to run it.
It's important make sure insurance is still valid and you'll need new vehicle excise duty (VED).
Should the car be on outstanding finance, it's a little trickier but you shouldn't be left to foot the bill for payments if you don't want to if you follow the correct steps.
We've compiled this guide for how YOU can avoid being caught out in case the worst should happen.
Keeping the car
You'll need to contact the DVLA to tell them the current owner has died - and include the driving licence with a letter detailing your relationship to the deceased, the date they died and their name, address and date of birth.
If you are a family member and keeping the car you must tell DVLA that you’re the new keeper of the vehicle. These changes can be made with section six of the V5C logbook.
You can’t transfer vehicle tax any more so you must get a refund on any outstanding tax and re-tax it in your name once you are registered as owner.
Helpfully, you don't need to wait for a new logbook in your name to tax the car - you can use the V5C/2 part of the logbook (green slip, section 10) immediately.
You can also register the car as off the road (SORN) - if you want to keep it in a garage for the time being and not pay tax.
Once it's in your name you're free to sell the car on to a private buyer, dealer or online car buying site.
Check your insurance
Most policies terminate on the death of the main policyholder so even if you're a named driver the cover may not be valid.
Call up your insurer and check - it may be a simple case of changing the lead driver name - although this could push up the premium plus you'll pay admin fees.
If you just need to take a new policy out, shop around to find one with the best deal.
What if the car has outstanding finance?
With so many cars bought on finance, it's likely this will become a bigger issue over the next few years.
There are options, though. First, you should be able to take over payments if you want to keep the car by contacting the finance company.
If you want to get rid of it, then you won't have to go through the process of selling it as the motor still belongs to the finance firm.
In this instance, the car will be taken off you and often sold at auction to cover the outstanding loan.
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Any shortfall will need to be covered - normally by the deceased's estate.
Depending on the contract, you may be able to hand the car back without paying any fees under 'halves and thirds' rules if a certain repayment amount has already been met.
Scrapping the car
There's a chance, if it's an old banger that scrapping the car could be the easiest and most economical way to shift the unwanted car.
Most firms will collect the car free of charge and give you a pre-agreed scrap value depending on the type, age and condition of the car.
Payments are then made with cheque or bank transfer - but not cash.
You may also consider selling the car for salvage or giving the car to charity. Websites like can help find the best place to shift your car this way.
If you go down this route, you must tell the DVLA you’ve taken the vehicle to an authorised treatment facility (ATF) or you will risk a fine of up to £1,000.
And be sure to give your ATF the vehicle log book (V5C) while you must keep the V5C/3 (notification of sale or transfer of a vehicle) this is the yellow part.
