gone.

[banditbasser]

long gone....

 

[richg99]

Wow, private lake and it still has to be registered????

Sure glad I don't live there.

 

[Johnny]

wow indeed

well, :WELCOME: to our pond !!

I know a little bit about the Florida law now that I just went through something similar.
In Florida, you can not even sell that boat for scrap unless it is cut up in small pieces.
the motor and trailer - no problem. no papers required.

If you are looking to buy a title and VIN to bootleg your boat, I think this forum is not for you.
Try CraigsList in your area.

asking for advice on Tin Boats is one thing, and everyone will help you as much as possible.
But, to ask a member here to break the law to sell you a VIN and Title is stretching it a bit.

good luck

Did you get and still have a Bill of Sale ???
one after thought is that if you can hire a private party to do the research for you.
Vehicle registration is public records. Mostly not free, but available for a price.
Even if you have to pay a couple hundred bucks to find the "right" people to sign some
papers passing the boat to you would be worth it . . . that is a nice boat !!!
Or, you can learn how to use Ancestry.com, US Census records, find a grave.com, etc to find the survivors
of the guy that passed away.

 

[banditbasser]

wow indeed

well, :WELCOME: to our pond !!

Mostly not free, but available for a price.
Even if you have to pay a couple hundred bucks to find the "right" people to sign some
papers passing the boat to you would be worth it . . . that is a nice boat !!!

Thanks for the welcome, the next day after picking up the pro 17 I drove past a 1992 TX17 and picked up it as well! So I am working on the TX17 now(no title issues).

No bill of sale as it passed hands 3 times from the deceased kids, to his grandkid to his grandkids friend then to me. The fella I got it from was less than helpful and didnt want to give me any paperwork since he didnt have any himself. I do have statement of origin from the trailer.

I found the obituary of the fella that passed so I know his kids names but not how to contact them or how they could really be of any help if i did. I am going to see a neighbor who works at DMV soon and see if she has any insight. I think talking to the right person from DMV could make this happen! Finding the "right" person to talk to is definitely key here. If anyone here works for NJ DMV please contact me!

BTW Here is the TX17 as I passed it on the road for sale and under the knife yesterday:

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

You need to find the executor of the will / estate.

 

[Johnny]

You need to find the executor of the will / estate.

Yeah, that is what I was thinking too, I just couldn't remember the term.
someone, somewhere, has the power to sign papers to settle the person's debts.
and, [I think] your boat falls into that category.
I don't know if each state is different when it comes to Probate Laws.
As an afterthought, I would suggest you check with YOUR lawyer !!!! Maybe he/she
can at least steer you in the right direction. Maybe even for a fee, file a petition to have
the boat put in your name. Sort of like a Writ of Habeas Corpus. (meaning, you have the boat,
you need to find the owner).
Keep checking with the DMV until someone can actually put papers in your hand for the
"legal" owner to sign and return to DMV.

Don't give up ! that is a nice boat and well worth the legal trouble.
and personally, trying to bootleg some legal papers is not the right way to go.
My conscience would not let me enjoy a day of fishing knowing the boat had some
illegal issues on it. (but, that is just me).

 

[richg99]

Absent an actual probate, most States have something called a" Small Estate Affidavit "," that allows transfer of assets. But, I believe you have to be an heir to sign it.

 

[banditbasser]

Thanks for the replys and ideas. I am going to keep working until I get the title but for now I will just work on my other Tracker. I will update if and when I finally get it. In the meantime as soon as I make some real progress on the TX17 I'll start a thread on it.