Surety Bond in Leiu of Title

[Titan1969]

Hi everyone, thanks in advance for those can assist me.

My father passed away earlier this year in the state of MI leaving me heir to his 1973 Cuda and my relatives attempted to assist me ( Im in CA) locate the original title. No luck.
10 months later Im still unable to acquire a duplicate title through the SOS of MI using my relatives to represent me.
MI SOS says I must appear in person, which im not flying out to MI to do.

My father has owned this Plymouth since 1990 so its not a dispute between owners, its just SOS says I must appear, ridiculous.
His estate has been settled and I have a death certificate but SOS says not enough.

So I have been searching for a way to deal with this in CA and came across "Surety Bonds".

Has anyone used this as a precurser to eventually getting a title in thier name? what a PITA this whole thing is and to boot, I have spent serious $$$ to finish restoring the car in MI, where my dad had been working with a shop prior to his passing.

 

[fastmark]

I’ve had some bonded titles done in Texas. The bonding company was out of state. I called them for details. The insurance agent that sells the bond does not know much. They just collect the bond money, so I called the bonding company. The state then sends out letters to the last known registered owner of the car. I don’t know what they do if they don’t have it in their state data base. They just inform the person by mail that someone is trying to get a title to a car registered to them and do you have any legal claim to the car? If so, contact the state and proceed from there. If they have claim they can get paid the bond amount and then the bonding agent comes to you to collect the $$$$$! They may have the option to get the car, idk. In any case, you better know where the car came from before you go the bonded title route. In your case, you would be ok, looks to me. The bond last for three years and then you get a regular title with no bond and you can’t be made to give up the car or pay a bond.

 

[rklein71]

Flying out to MI might be the cheapest and least troublesome way to get your title in the long run.

 

[ek3]

if the estate was setteled , what did they do with his car ? the executor of his estate has the power/duty to dispose of all personal property. I think that an attorney can send a request to sos for that purpose..

 

[michiganhotrod1]

if the estate was setteled , what did they do with his car ? the executor of his estate has the power/duty to dispose of all personal property. I think that an attorney can send a request to sos for that purpose..

I went through a similar hell getting a title for a 74 Cuda I bought from the second owner in Georgia, where cars then were registered by county, some with titles, some with registrations. I dealt with a long list of some of the nastiest people on the planet, enlisted my state senator, etc. with out results. I finally called the governor and kept pestering them until they found an intelligent life form that unraveled the problem and issued the title.
If you have your paperwork in order (death certificate, estate documents, etc.) I suggest that you go to the Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and don't give-up until someone responds properly.
BTW, this took me four months. There is a sever backlog due to the Covid issues.
Mark

 

[Titan1969]

Thx Michiganhotrod1. I got things sorted out here in CA by using a 3rd party service. They sent an authorized VIN verification person out, they took photos got the VIN, etc. They submitted everything to CA state and brief reason for the title request. it really WORKED. Got my Title and Reg 4 weeks later all legit. the service charged $320 that included Reg and Title. so 1 year later Im legit. It likely helped that my father and I have same first last name, different middle.

 

[oldkimmer]

Let me get this straight. You got the car from your dad’s estate. Put serious money into it. Then are not going to fly out and take care of this title issue. I don’t get it. You can clear this issue up but instead you want to enlist a third party that may or may not unravel past history that may in fact cause you to loose the car. Believe me it has happened b4 and not once but thousands of times. The past title holder may be a real asshole and want the car back, especially knowing it’s been restored. There are many unscrupulous people in the world. I really wish you luck and that no problems arise. I would really hate for you to loose the car. Kim