Selling or junking a car after the owner dies

Clearing out a parent’s garage often turns up a car nobody wants to drive. Maybe it hasn’t moved in years. The sale itself is simple. The paperwork that comes first depends on how the car was titled and whether the estate is going through probate.

Start with the title

The Secretary of State puts it this way: the procedure “depends on whether the title was in the individual name of the deceased or in joint ownership,” and, if it was in the deceased’s name only, “on whether the deceased’s estate is being probated.” So find the title and check whose names are on it, and whether a lender or a beneficiary is listed.

The routes, side by side

All of these come from 625 ILCS 5/3-114 and the SOS brochure Estates: Facts About Vehicle Title Transfers (VSD 275).

Situation	Who signs	What’s filed	Deadline
Estate in probate	The executor or administrator	Certified letters of office	Before the estate closes
No probate, small estate	The affiant on a Small Estate Affidavit	The affidavit (with year, make and VIN) and the last title if available	120 days
Car titled to two or more people	The surviving owner	Proof of death and survivorship	120 days
Surviving spouse	The spouse	Proof of the death, the transfer and the marriage	180 days
Small estate affidavit doesn’t fit	An heir or legatee	Death certificate and an attorney’s affidavit on letterhead	Not set in the statute
A beneficiary is named on the title	The beneficiary	Beneficiary Claim Form (VSD 774), death certificate, title, fee, tax form	See the form

A few details from VSD 275 matter here. The person signing a small estate affidavit “does not have to be an heir or legatee,” and if there’s a will, a certified copy goes in too. A title in the names of two or more people is treated as a joint tenancy.

The small estate limit changed

The SOS brochure from June 2023 still prints a $100,000 limit. The Probate Act now says $150,000, excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State, and when the affidavit is used only for the vehicle title transfer it can be used “without consideration of the value of the decedent’s personal estate” (755 ILCS 5/25-1, effective August 15, 2025). If you’re using the affidavit just for the car, the estate’s size doesn’t block you.

Fees you might see

From VSD 275: a new certificate of title is $165, a corrected title $50, and a corrected title that only removes a deceased joint owner’s name is a special $15 fee. A junking certificate has no fee. A tax form (RUT-50) is needed in most cases, but not for a surviving joint owner.

Junking the car after the transfer

Once the car is in the name of the person who can sign, selling it for scrap works like any other sale. That person signs the title over, shows ID and takes off the plates. Note one detail from the beneficiary form: a beneficiary “does not have rights to the deceased owner’s vehicle registration,” so the old plates aren’t automatically theirs to transfer.

Have the estate papers but aren’t sure they cover a scrap sale? Read them out to us on the call and we’ll say whether they do. Background: can I sell a car without a title in Illinois. Old family trucks and vans are covered on our trucks, vans and SUVs page, and what happens after you sell explains the Seller’s Report of Sale.

This is a summary of published Illinois rules, not legal advice. An estate with property, debts or disputes is worth a call to a probate attorney.