HB 392 — Motor vehicles, Dept of Revenue, transfer of ownership interest in deceased individual's motor vehicle prohibited, except by order of a probate or circuit court, by a small estates distribution, by affidavit of all heirs, Class B misdemeanor for false affidavit.

HB392 INTRODUCEDENGROSSED HB392 ZNUHRKW-1ZNUHRKW-2 By Representative Robbins RFD:

02-Apr-24 Page 0 ZNUHRKW-1HB392 04/01/2024Engrossed SLU2 (L)bm4 2024-975A 2BILL 4TO SYNOPSIS:BE ENTITLED AN ACT 9 Relating to transfer of motor vehicle title;

Under existing law, when the owner of a motor vehicle becomes deceased and the deceased owner's estate does not require probate, any individual who is next of kin to, and one of the heirs of, the deceased owner may submit to the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, a title application accompanied by an affidavit and a copy of the deceased owner's death certificate, along with a completed replacement certificate or a completed assignment form in order to have the title of the vehicle transferred to himself or herself.

The next of kin may acquire title in this manner without providing proof of his or her relationship to the deceased or notifying any other heirs who may be entitled to claim an interest in the vehicle.

This bill would prohibit the department from transferring any ownership interest in a deceased owner's motor vehicle unless the decedent's estate is administered by a probate court or circuit court, is part of a summary distribution by a judge of probate, or distributed pursuant to an affidavit signed by all of the decedent's heirs without the probate of the decedent's estate.

This bill would further provide that an affiant Page 1 HB392 INTRODUCED who provides a false statement in an affidavit signed by heirs of a decedent related to the transfer of any ownership interest in a decedent's motor vehicle commits perjury in the third degree.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Relating to transfer of motor vehicle title;

(b) An affiantaffidavit whoprovided swearspursuant falselyto inthis ansection affidavitshall asbe aconclusively decedent'spresumed heirby underthe subsectionDepartment (a)of commitsRevenue perjuryto inbe thecomplete, thirdcorrect degreeand pursuanteffective toin Sectionorder 13A-10-103,to Codetransfer oftitle Alabamato Pagea 2good HB392faith INTRODUCEDpurchaser 1975.for value.

(b) An affiant who swears falsely in an affidavit as a decedent's heir under subsection (a) commits perjury in the Page 1 HB392 Engrossed third degree pursuant to Section 13A-10-103, Code of Alabama 1975.

Page 32 HB392 Engrossed House of Representatives Read for the first time and referred ................02-Apr-24 to the House of Representatives committee on Judiciary Read for the second time and placed ................11-Apr-24 on the calendar:

0 amendments Read for the third time and passed ................16-Apr-24 as amended Yeas 93 Nays 5 Abstains 4 John Treadwell Clerk Page 3