boat ownership question for legal types

[Benny17441]

There are benefits is the boat is going to travel outside the United States, there are benefits for lenders that may provide financing for the purchase of the boat as a mortgage can be placed on the boat as opposed to a vehicle title lien in one State. It simplifies the documentation process when a sale is made of a boat outside the State it is registered in. It brings the boat into alignment with federal maritime regulations recording information on debt arrests, liens, accidents, and any other particulars that may affect title.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

That was what I was thinking too. Sell to the Trust for $1 and other consideration, witnessed and notarized. Attorney can do that in their office for you while doing the other docs. I don't think it's a problem the way it is but this would tidy it up and eliminate a question down the road.

You don't have to sell it to the person you BELIEVE will be the surviving spouse...she may not be. In a state that doesn't title boats, CG document serves as a title....so document the boat with the trust as the owner..."title" will pass to the beneficiary of the trust. I've been through this twice, btw...once when I sold our documented boat after my husband died (It was bought by a couple who movd it from Atlanta to Chicago)., and once when I sold my own boat 8 years later. In both cases the trust was the owner. I did have to include my husbands's death certificate with the Bill of Sale as proof that I had inherited our boat, making me the legal owner with the right to sell it.