FWC and boat Titles

[no_boundaries]

Is anyone on here FWC or does anyone on here have experience titling boats with lost Titles as Homemade?
I bought a aluminum bass boat for nothing a few months back with the plan to gut it and make an upriver hunting rig on a budget. The old man who owned it had passed and the guy handling the estate signed the Title. I didnt think anything about it at the time but im ready to wire the hull and put it back together and...i have a Title not signed by the owner. He has been trying to get the attorney to send me all the documents needed for titling but i dont know if that will ever happen.
Ive heard of retirees (especially) getting old Jon boat hulls and such, repairing them and then titling them as homemade. My understanding is anything less than 16' only requires a couple forms and documents for material purchases. No inspection.
Just curious if anyone here has any experience down this road
Thanks

 

[Duckyou]

Vessel Titling and Registrations

Language | Idioma English Español All motorized vessels operating on Florida’s public waterways must be titled and registered. Chapter 328, Florida Statutes, designates that FLHSMV is responsible for issuing vessel registrations and titles. Applications for titles and registrations must be filed...

www.flhsmv.gov

 

[no_boundaries]

Vessel Titling and Registrations

Language | Idioma English Español All motorized vessels operating on Florida’s public waterways must be titled and registered. Chapter 328, Florida Statutes, designates that FLHSMV is responsible for issuing vessel registrations and titles. Applications for titles and registrations must be filed...

www.flhsmv.gov

Thanks. Believe me. Ive read it

 

[DangDang]

The FWC doesn’t have anything to do with it, like the sheriff’s office doesn’t have anything to do with you titling your vehicle. But they both will check to see if you have it registered. Probably about 15 years ago; I had a 10ft. aluminum jon boat registered as a homemade boat. It had been my grandfather’s for idk how many years as a little pond/paddle boat. I told the lady at the DMV that he built it a long time ago with some welding and rivets & idk how much he spent. Also told her my reason for titling was so I could put a small electric motor on it to access some small rivers. A very high up person at the county tax collector office told me that they would rather work with you and try to get things done (in a correct “legal” manner) well so they can collect taxes.

 

[no_boundaries]

According to...whatever site...FWC will have to inspect any homemade vessel over the length of 16' in addition to filing the two separate forms i mentioned earlier. With mine being a 160 (15'9") i was curious as to what this inspection involves. Im sure its to make sure you dont have an 18' telephone pole with 4 450 verados but, i just wanted to be sure.
Thanks DangDang. Thats what i suspect, i just want to have my ducks in a row. Getting someone seasoned at the Tax Collectors can be a crap shoot

 

[dreamchaser69]

I did this a long time ago. What you need is the old title (hopefully the original - not a copy) and the copy of the POA (power of atty) for the estate of the owner. If that is the guy that signed it, you should not have any issues. You might need a copy of the death certificate - but simple thing to do is call the DMV in your county and explain situation - ask what they need.

If its been titled once and you have that title, it will only be a transfer and won't require an inspection...... HOWEVER - if the vessel is coming from another state (AL, GA, etc) - then you will have to take it to the DMV so they can verify the HIN. If it's FLA - and registering in FLA - you don't have to take it.

If the above fails, ask for the attorney's info so you can contact them directly - they have a responsibility to see these things through.

I just had to do this for my mothers car (she passed late Dec-20) where I took my POA, made a copy, signed the title and sent the owner off with the hardcopy of the title and the POA. She didn't have any issues getting new title done.

 

[makats]

You can email Catherine Williamson at the Pensacola DMV department that deals with the registration and titling of homemade stuff. She was very helpful to me when I was registering my Assembled From Parts Moped. If you got your paperwork it all is very quick (even though I had to do an inspection on mine, it only took but 15 minutes to do it). Good luck.

CatherineWilliamson@flhsmv.gov​

Division of Motorist Services

100 Stumpfield Road

Pensacola, FL 32503

 

[makats]

I did this a long time ago. What you need is the old title and the copy of the POA (power of atty) for the estate of the owner. If that is the guy that signed it, you should not have any issues. You might need a copy of the death certificate - but simple thing to do is call the DMV in your county and explain situation - ask what they need.

If the above fails, ask for the attorney's info so you can contact them directly - they have a responsibility to see these things through.

I just had to do this for my mothers car (she passed late Dec-20) where I took my POA, made a copy, signed the title and sent the owner off with the hardcopy of the title and the POA. She didn't have any issues getting new title done.

Tom, Power of Attorney doesn't work after the person that signed the POA has died. You'd need either letters of administration/testamentary or an order of summary administration to do it properly, but sometimes the tag office will do it with just a copy of will and death certificate if no formal probate is opened.

 

[dreamchaser69]

Tom, Power of Attorney doesn't work after the person that signed the POA has died. You'd need either letters of administration/testamentary or an order of summary administration to do it properly, but sometimes the tag office will do it with just a copy of will and death certificate if no formal probate is opened.

Agreed - I had a durable POA - and the county took it.... LOL ~ We also had a will appointing my sister and I as executors / administrators. The real doc needed is that statement/will appointing the administrator/executor. UNLESS - there was not one appointed and the county / atty was assigned to dispose of assets under a probate order ... or atty hired by the family to handle liquidating the estate. Either way, its just a couple of docs and should be a lot easier than trying to re-title as homemade with inspections.

Sorry - I did not make my self very clear earlier....

 

[no_boundaries]

Thank you so much, guys. We're on the road tomorrow so i was planning to spend some time on the phone trying to sort this out. Ive been waiting for these documents yo magically appear for almost 2 months. Havent touched the boat while ive been waiting and am growing antsy as the water temps climb

 

[Zeroed in]

IDK, but I'm sure it's a felony charge for lying on title documents (homemade)?

But if the title is signed, as you stated, I'd take it down and transfer it. If a problem did arise, it'd fall back on the person who signed it. But then again, the dead guy (rest his soul) won't contest it.

 

[no_boundaries]

IDK, but I'm sure it's a felony charge for lying on title documents (homemade)?

But if the title is signed, as you stated, I'd take it down and transfer it. If a problem did arise, it'd fall back on the person who signed it. But then again, the dead guy (rest his soul) won't contest it.

No, it is signed by the executor of the estate, not the late owner. I took it to the Tax Collector's office a couple of months ago and thats when i realized he had signed it and not the owner. They couldnt do anything with it and here i am.

 

[Zeroed in]

my bad, I must've misread it. yeah, the names have to match.