Can I take advantage of positive equity in lease if the car belonged to my dad and he passed away?

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1

Hello,

I have been driving my dad’s 2019 Nissan Pathfinder. He got sick soon after he got it and has since passed away. The lease is due and it has approximately $5000 in equity based on offers I have gotten here and at the dealer near me. The offer here was a little higher.

My father did not have a will. I have been taking care of all the finances for my mom and I have durable power of attorney for her. Her name is not on the lease. She does not drive.

Can I sell the car to the dealers, so I can take advantage of the positive equity, or do I have to return it directly to Nissan?

Thanks any help is appreciated.

2

Did you transfer the lease to your mom or to the estate? I believe that was likely the first necessary step. I am not a lawyer, though. If you’d like the name of an estate lawyer in NJ, PM me and I can recommend someone.

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3

Sorry for your loss. You really should be asking an estate attorney and reviewing the lease agreement: IANAL but if he owned this car it should pass to your mother even without probate, but since it’s a lease (NMAC’s property) I think the lease agreement outlines in the termination section what happens if the leasee passes. Because she isn’t on the lease and it isn’t his/their property it likely should have been returned when he passed.

Good luck.

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4

My father passed and I was required to take over his Infiniti lease. They won’t let you out unless you pay it in full at death, but they allowed us to resume the lease terms. This was before all the crazy equity. I would think the estate is entitled to the asset, being that it is likely an asset now but only the bank can answer that.

Call the bank they can answer your question best. All leasing banks have death provisions.

5

Regarding the lease, it’s Nissan’s you can continue to pay it or return it, but you cannot sell it.
If you want to give it back, then thats easy, but if you want to sell it, its rough

Regarding everything else:
If your mom is married to your dad at time of death, a simple transfer occurs to her, if he had assets beyond 100k, then it goes to probate and gets real sticky.
If there is a non joint bank account or the house is in his name only, then you need a trust and estate lawyer

Tl;dr
No car for you.

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