The customer sitting in front of you recently lost their spouse. That information might send you right into panic mode where you find your brain is completely blank. Take a couple breaths. We have been in your clerk shoes and understand the stress of survivorship transactions, for all parties involved. This blog post is to get you a little more prepared for when this situation sneaks up on you.

We get many calls regarding processing survivorship titles and registrations: New, Renewal, and Transfer. There are many ways a Survivorship Title/Registration can be processed. You need to be sure you gather enough information, in order to begin using the correct process.

First: Does your customer qualify for a Survivorship Transfer? The Requirements to qualify for Survivorship Title/Registration (per page 42 of the State of NH, Procedure Manual for Municipal Agents a/k/a MA Manual, latest edition 2019), are as follows:

• The owner must be deceased.
• The new owner must be the Surviving Partner and be listed on the Death Certificate pursuant to RSA 261:17.
• No additional owners added.
• Application is made within 13 months of Decedent’s date of death pursuant to RSA 261:20.
• No change of vehicle is involved (If the surviving spouse purchases a new vehicle to replace the old, they do not qualify for a survivorship transfer).

Second: Some investigation of the current/registration title is required:

• Is it in the registration renewal MONTH?
• Is the Surviving Spouse currently on the existing title/registration?
• If the Surviving Spouse is on the existing title/registration, are they the first or second owner?

Third: It is now time to figure out where to start… Follow the link below to view a few of the procedural beginning points:

• Procedures.

There are many variables to Survivorship titles/registrations, if you do not see a clear place to start (in the link provided above), please give us a call.

Lastly, an important note: As of the date of this blog post, you can only process the town portion of a Lease Transfer Survivorship registration. Your customer will need to complete the State portion of the registration at the State level. To begin the process:

• Select Transfers | Lease Survivorship – (AP, PS, EX, Title App on File, or Existing Title) | Town portion only

For more information on Survivorship Transfers, and step-by-step instructions, please see our online documentation: Survivorship Registrations.