When you take on the responsibility of a car lease, the finance institution is not interested in the reasons that prevent you from making the monthly payments. This responsibility continues to exist even after the death of the person in question and the remaining balance will be covered by the estate of the deceased person.
If you ever have to deal with the death of a family member with a car lease, you will first of all have to look for the agreement or the contract that was signed by the deceased and the leaser. That document is necessary because, before thinking about the solutions you could try to apply, you should be aware of all the agreement’s terms, especially of those that refer to an early lease termination. The solution offered by most leasers in case of the death of a person with a car lease involves the return of the car and the payment of all the amounts still due.
The next step involves contacting the company for the reason of finding out the value of the remaining payments and what would be the amount you would have to pay if you opt for an early lease termination (if this option exists). You can even ask the staff there to email you a written statement that contains details about all these amounts that need to be paid. That’s how you can make sure everything is official.
If you aren’t the estate’s executor (the person in charge of supervising the estate’s closure) you should take this document to the named executor. He is the only one who has the authority to inform the leasing company about the leaseholder’s death. Depending on the law which applies in your state concerning the probate process, the company will have more or less than three months at its disposal to claim the balance on the lease. Once the claim is made, the estate will be used to pay the amounts stated in the claim. The day the money is paid, you will always have to make sure you establish with the company a plan regarding the car’s return. In case the leasing company doesn’t use its right to claim the necessary amounts during the amount of time specified by the law, it will no longer be able to recuperate its losses at a later time.
If the estate is not valuable enough to cover the company’s claim you shouldn’t worry. The leased car will have to be returned, but the balance and the other fees involved won’t have to be paid by the family of the deceased. This is true only if the lease agreement doesn’t also include a co-signer. If there are enough money left after the death of a person with a car lease, but you want to avoid paying the remaining balance, there are some options you can consider. A possibility would be finding someone who is willing to assume the car lease. You will need to check if the agreement allows this procedure. You can find many websites that can help you find such a person and that can offer you advice on the matter.
What’s important to keep in mind is that even if you have to deal with the death of a family member with a car lease there are options left even for the worst case scenarios even if the responsibility of the car lease outlives the leaseholder. You can avoid even paying impressive amounts if you take the time to do some research and find someone willing to take over the lease.
Post tags: Tags: automotive articles, death and car lease
