A grieving woman fears her Subaru will be taken away if she can’t sort out the details of her late husband’s lease.
Even with end-of-life preparations, leasing requirements can be complicated.
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Carol Levin and her husband rented a new Subaru Forester earlier this year to drive safely through the harsh Massachusetts winters.
In March, Carol discovered that her husband, whose name was on the rental paperwork, had suddenly passed away.
The vehicle was rented through Chase, who she promptly called to resolve the issue.
She assumed that transferring the tenancy into her name would be simple as she was the next of kin and was listed in her husband’s will.
Read more about car leasing
After the bank asked her for different forms of documentation, such as a death certificate and other documents, she became concerned about an upcoming obstacle.
[The bank asked for] something from the will showing that I was the beneficiary and a number of different items that they needed to see,” Levin told the ABC affiliate. WCVB.
At worst, she’s worried her Subaru will be taken away.
“It’s just one more unknown among all the other things that are going on with an estate settlement,” she continued.
“I would like to officially have the lease in my name so I can feel secure.”
In July, Chsae told her the bank does not transfer auto loans.
However, they stopped automatic payments through her account and allowed Carol to write a check to the bank every month.
She could buy the vehicle from the dealership, but she is unable to pay, as she would have to make all the remaining payments at once.
She only has one year left on her rent.
With everything up in the air about the lease transfer, Carol worries that problems could arise with her insurance policy as well.
“I have this insecurity of not having anything saying that this will continue until the end of the contract,” she said.
Reporters were able to contact Chase, who confirmed that the bank could not authorize lease or loan accounts.
However, as Carol went through the bank’s probate process, the bank was able to add her as an authorized user so she could continue making rent payments.
Expert car rental advice
Ray and Zach Shefska, the father-son duo that make up CarEdge, spoke with Sun Motors USA reporter Kristen Brown in an exclusive interview about their top tips before signing a new car lease.
Leasing a car may be a more viable option for some rather than financing with an auto loan.
Leasing a car for 24 to 36 months can be attractive to many because the monthly payments are typically lower than loan payments, although there are some restrictions, such as a mileage allowance.
At the end of the lease, people can purchase the vehicle at a reduced price or they can return it to the dealership and lease another car.
Before entering into a lease, Ray offered some important tips to consider, drawn from his 40 years of experience as a sales manager at several dealerships:
- Learn the interest part of the rent — or the “money factor” — to understand how much interest you’ll pay and how much that adds up to in total.
- Negotiate the sales price before discussing monthly payments – the cheaper the car’s sales price, the cheaper your payments will be.
- Accept the premise that you will always have to make a payment, so you can have a good car for a cheaper price or a smaller car for a higher price.
Read more here.
They were able to add her to her husband’s account after she provided the necessary documents.
Therefore, she is safe to drive the car.
For future reference, Chase told reporters in a statement that her concerns could have been managed if her husband added her to the contract.
“If there is still a living customer on the account, the living customer will remain on the account,” the bank wrote.
Therefore, couples looking to rent a car must have both spouses on the documents to avoid a situation like Levin’s.
Otherwise, the bank said she could have purchased the vehicle on lease or returned the car to the dealership.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
