BILL REQ. #:  H-0470.1 

Read first time 01/21/2005.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to transfer of vehicle ownership upon the death of the registered owner; and adding a new section to chapter 46.12 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 46.12 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A sole owner of a motor vehicle or trailer, and multiple owners of a motor vehicle or trailer who hold their interest as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety, on application and payment of the fee required for an original certificate of ownership, may request the department to issue a certificate of ownership for the motor vehicle or trailer in beneficiary form that includes a directive to the department to transfer the certificate of ownership on death of the sole owner or on death of all multiple owners to one beneficiary or to two or more beneficiaries as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety named on the face of the certificate.
     (2) A certificate of ownership in beneficiary form may not be issued to persons who hold their interest in a motor vehicle or trailer as tenants in common.
     (3) A certificate of ownership issued in beneficiary form must include after the name of the owner, or after the names of multiple owners, the words "transfer on death to" or the abbreviation "TOD" followed by the name of the beneficiary or beneficiaries.
     (4)(a) During the lifetime of a sole owner and during the lifetime of all multiple owners, the signature or consent of the beneficiary or beneficiaries is not required for a transaction relating to the motor vehicle or trailer for which a certificate of ownership in beneficiary form has been issued.
     (b) A certificate of ownership in beneficiary form may be revoked or the beneficiary or beneficiaries changed at any time before the death of a sole owner or surviving multiple owner only by the following methods:
     (i) By a sale of the motor vehicle or trailer with proper assignment and delivery of the certificate of ownership to another person; or
     (ii) By filing an application to reissue the certificate of ownership with no designation of a beneficiary or with the designation of a different beneficiary or beneficiaries with the department in proper form and accompanied by the payment of the fee for an original certificate of ownership.
     (c) The beneficiary's or beneficiaries' interest in the motor vehicle or trailer at the death of the owner or surviving owner is subject to any contract of sale, assignment of ownership, or security interest to which the owner or owners of the motor vehicle or trailer were subject during their lifetime.
     (d) The designation of a beneficiary or beneficiaries in a certificate of ownership issued in beneficiary form may not be changed or revoked by a will, any other instrument, or a change in circumstances, or otherwise be changed or revoked except as provided by (b) of this subsection.
     (5)(a) On proof of the death of one of the owners of two or more multiple owners, or of a sole owner, surrender of the outstanding certificate of ownership, and on application and payment of the fee for an original certificate of ownership, the department shall issue a new certificate of ownership for the motor vehicle or trailer to the surviving owner or owners or, if none, to the surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries, subject to any outstanding security interest; and the current valid certificate of registration must be so transferred.
     (b) The department may rely on a death certificate or record or report that constitutes prima facie proof or evidence of death under RCW 30.22.040.
     (c) The transfer of a motor vehicle or trailer at death under this section is effective for the purposes of chapter 46.16 RCW and is not to be considered as testamentary, or to be subject to the requirements of Title 11 RCW.