Questions on Paperwork

[kennedywkennedy]

Hi to all people,

I have a unique situation that Im hoping to get information-ideas and advice about a hitch trailer/camper that was left by my late husband as of 2 months and 2 weeks and 3 days ago. Im still grieving over the loss and am not exactly motivated to do what Im having to do under the stress and pressure of daily life-paying bills and what have you in order to survive. However saying that, I am motivated by this sad situation that has caused me to do things Im not happy to do but then have no choice but to do them. Forgive me, Im not sure if Im making much sense as Im under great stress and probably over explaining myself but Im just going to write this as informative as I can so that I can get the advice/information I need.

The trailer in question is very large and Im positive its over a thousand pounds as its also about 20 feet long. Its a hitch camper whereas its loaded on the back of a truck. It was bought by my husband two years ago (approx) and has never been used by us but is not new either. I have no paperwork-which I just now learned that I need in fact by this website! This is sitting in my back yard and I don't know the first thing about it other then see thoughts of my Richard coming out of it with boyish grin knowing that I hated that thing!

Its imperative that I sell this to help pay for bills that have been stacking up and it is my fault that Iv let it go on this long. Honestly a part of me doesn't care anymore but I have to live for my grandchildren now-as well as my own kids who obviously are grown. How can I sell this with no paperwork? I can prove its our-its obviously on my property and I know he bought it for 8 thousand dollars which I guess was a great deal but, Im looking to sell it for 5 thousand and have people interested but can't do anything-and won't do anything till I know Im within the guidelines of the law to do it. Im a law abiding citizen and won't do anything out side of those laws so I need help to understand what I can do here. The people interested want to purchase it now with half the money down now and the rest next month. Aside from trusting the arrangement of the second half, they aren't caring about the fact that there's no paper work. Should I be worried? Are they pulling a scam on me-or is it I who will be in trouble for it if I sell it without a title or registration?

I have my grandson coming by tomorrow to help gather some more information about it such as the style, model year etc..and will know more information about it then.

Thank you so much! I apologize if Iv written this in the wrong place, Im not exactly computer savvy and am new to all of this..Actually, this is my Ricks forte and well, he's no longer here to help me so..

Truly,

Kimberly A. Kennedy

[lopo]

Hi, Kimberly. What a mess you've got on your hands right when you feel like you're not up to a thing. I'm so sorry! I hope some of us can help you. Can you possibly take a few photos of the trailer, and also tell us what state you're in? (If your grandson has a smartphone, perhaps he can take photos of it with his phone.)

[vikx]

Hi Kimberly,

So sorry for your loss. I made a new thread in hopes that you will get the information you need.

[Deleted]

Hi Kimberly,

I too am very sorry to hear of your loss. It seems from your writing that it was unexpected if not sudden, and those situations are always the most difficult to get through. I do hope that you have the support you need from those grown children for coping with your day-to-day.

I think that Soup touched on a very important point with regards to the estate. There are certain legalities involved, most of which are mysteries to me. That is why I have always tried to register all of our vehicles in both my and my wife's names. If anything happens to either of us the survivor would have no problems with rights of ownership or sale of said vehicles.

Here in New York State, there are differing ways of selling a trailer without title or registration paperwork. I believe the first avenue of information should be your DMV. A lot of these questions can be answered by their websites, but a face-to-face always felt better to me to find answers.

We had purchased an older camper without the registration just a couple months back, and the previous owner was good enough to go to the Dept of Motor Vehicles and get the forms from them. He too was left the camper with no registration paperwork from family. He described the whole process as being a breeze, the people that he dealt with were knowledgeable as to what was needed, and got him set with everything that I will need to put plates on it.

In regard to the people that are interested in the camper, I do not think from what you said here that you have to worry about a scam, but rather that they realize what a great deal they are looking at, and they also may have some knowledge about the dealings with Motor Vehicles already.
I do hope that you are not greatly under-valuing the unit, and if you have not already committed to selling, perhaps get a couple of opinions on its worth.

Definitely do not allow the camper to leave the property until you have full payment. "Half down and the rest next month" is a fine arrangement, as long as nothing except a receipt for the half down changes hands, until payment is received in full.

I'm not so sure my ramblings help any, but I do wish you the best with this situation. I would also invite you to please keep us up here as to your progress.

Strength and Courage,

Chris

[curlycat]

HI,
We live in California and bought an unregistered, no title trailer from New York that the owner inherited from his parents. The owner went to the NY DMV and got a notarized Bill of Sale. That is all we got. Perhaps you could offer to do the same.
When we picked it up we went to the NY DMV ourselves and paid about $130 to register it in our name. This involved getting it weighed and providing photographs of the VIN number and having the original owner sign a DMV form saying they lost the original bill of sale (from 1964). When we brought it to our state it was very easy to register in Ca. through AAA.
Good luck to you! Things will get easier.