resposibility for car lease
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resposibility for car lease
If I have a leased car in my name only and I pass away will my estate or wife be responsible for the balance. Everything is left to her
Asked on December 17, 2016 under Estate Planning, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Your estate will be responsible for the difference between the remaining "buy out" amount of your lease and what the car, when returned to the dealer, brings in at auction, unless your wife takes over or assumes the lease (i.e. voluntarily chooses to take the car and obligates herself under the lease). I recently went through this myself when my father passed away after just leasing a car: the remaining payout on it was around $30k, the dealer took it back and sold it at auction for around $22k, they then sought $8k from the estate.
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