2023 -- S 0432

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LC000647

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- CERTIFICATES OF TITLE AND

SECURITY INTERESTS

     Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Valverde, and Gu

     Date Introduced: February 16, 2023

     Referred To: Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 31-3.1-37 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-3.1 entitled

"Certificates of Title and Security Interests" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     31-3.1-37. Passage of title upon death of owner.

     (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, or unless Unless otherwise provided

in the last will and testament of a decedent, any motor vehicle(s) owned by the decedent shall

belong, and title to them shall pass, to the surviving spouse.

     (1) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall register the motor vehicle(s)

in the name of the surviving spouse upon presentation to the division of motor vehicles of:

     (i) A certified copy of the death certificate of the deceased spouse;

     (ii) Registration(s) of the motor vehicle(s) of the deceased spouse.

     (2) No fee shall be charged to the surviving spouse for issuance of a new certificate of title.

     (3) A surviving spouse shall not be charged a registration fee during the year he or she is

registering the vehicle(s) in his or her name and having a new certificate of title issued,

     (i) Where the deceased spouse registered that motor vehicle(s) with the division of motor

vehicles; and

     (ii) Paid the registration fees provided in § 31-6-1 for the motor vehicle(s) for the year.

     (4) Where the deceased spouse did not register the motor vehicle(s) or failed to pay a

registration fee pursuant to § 31-6-1 for the year in which the surviving spouse appears to register

the motor vehicle(s) and have a new title certificate issued in his or her name, then the surviving

spouse shall pay a pro rata amount of the annual registration fee for the remaining months of the

year.

     (b) On and after September 1, 2023, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of

this section, a motor vehicle may be titled in transfer-on-death form by including in the certificate

of title a designation of a beneficiary or beneficiaries to whom the motor vehicle shall be transferred

on death of the owner or the last to die of two (2) or more owners with the right of survivorship,

subject to the rights of any lien holder, whether created before, simultaneously with, or after the

creation of the transfer-on-death interest. A trust may be the beneficiary of a transfer-on-death

certificate of title.

     (c) A motor vehicle is titled in transfer-on-death form by designation in the certificate of

title, the name of the sole owner, or the names of the owners who jointly and severally own the

motor vehicle with the right of survivorship, followed in substance by the words "transfer on death

to [name of beneficiary or beneficiaries]". If no title is available or in the event that the title

document held by the owner of the vehicle does not contain transfer-on-death language, the owner

may, during their lifetime, execute a document, using in substance the same language as contained

on a title, transferring the vehicle to a beneficiary or beneficiaries as desired. If no such document

has been executed, the surviving spouse or other heirs, may transfer the title to the vehicle by

producing a copy of the owner’s death certificate along with an affidavit, in a form approved by

the director of the department of motor vehicles, stating that they are the surviving spouse or sole

heirs and requesting the title and registration be transferred without the necessity of probate. No

such request shall be denied by the department of motor vehicles unless there is evidence of fraud

or collusion.

     (d) The transfer-on-death beneficiary or beneficiaries shall have no interest in the motor

vehicle until the death of the owner or the last to die of all multiple owners with the right of

survivorship. A beneficiary designation may be revoked or changed at any time by the owner(s)

without the consent of the beneficiary by either filing an application with the department of motor

vehicles for a subsequent certificate of title or revoking any other document executed transferring

the vehicle on death. If such original document was filed with the department of motor vehicles,

the revocation shall also be filed.

     (e) Ownership of a motor vehicle titled in transfer-on-death form for which an application

for a subsequent certificate of title has not been filed shall vest in the designated beneficiary or

beneficiaries on the death of the owner or last survivor of any jointly owned vehicle, subject to the

rights of any lien holder. If no beneficiary survives the death of the owner(s), then any interest in

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the motor vehicle belongs to the estate of the deceased owner.

     (f) The department of motor vehicles shall prescribe any fees associated with the transfer

of title and registration, except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, but in no event shall

any fee exceed the annual registration fee for such vehicle.

     (g) A certificate of title in transfer-on-death form shall not be considered a testamentary

disposition.

     (h) On and after September 1, 2023, the department of motor vehicles shall provide

amended title forms and/or transfer-on-death forms to accomplish the purposes of subsections (b)

through (g) of this section.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC000647

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- CERTIFICATES OF TITLE AND

SECURITY INTERESTS

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     This act would allow on and after September 1, 2023, an owner of motor vehicle(s) to

transfer ownership and registration of said vehicle on their death by a certificate of title designation

and require the department of motor vehicles to amend title forms to include transfer-on-death

language.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC000647

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