The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles has some good information. Here is some information about inherited vehicles from the DMV website that should point you in the right direction:
Inherited Vehicles
If you are a surviving owner of a car, and your name and the deceased’s name is separated by “or” on the title, you can sign as the sole owner for an auto title transfer.
If the names on the title were separated by “and“, or if there was only one owner on the title, distribution of the vehicle must be determined by the probate court.
Depending on the determined form of distribution, the court will issue one of the following:
- An Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property Pursuant to Small Estate Proceedings.
- Personal Representative with an original Certificate of Appointment.
- Probate Court Order.
To complete a South Carolina car title transfer, you will need one of the above documents, along with the Application for Certificate of Title/Registration (Form 400). I usually tell my clients to go to the DMV with all of their paperwork. Most branches have someone up front to help direct people to the forms they need to fill out and where to go.
This blog is dated 2016, but references “a signed Affidavit of Inheritance of a Vehicle (Form 4036).” Form 4036 has been obsolete since 2011.
Thanks for pointing that out! If I remember correctly, I had pretty much cut and pasted the information from the old website. I will update this ASAP. Thanks again!