I purchased a
dinghy from a private party recently and am now in a tough spot to get it titled and registered.
The seller of the dingy is a widow to whom the
dinghy, the
boat and presumably other worldly possessions were left to. The dinghy seems to be one of the last things she needed to dispose of. It had purchased it new, and took
delivery (In his name only) in FL and stored it in a garage until she was ready to sell it. It was never titled or registered; when I asked for the title she told me they did not need to because it was under 16' and does not need to be, unless you put a
motor on it. I believe the correct interpretation of the law is it does not need ot be registered if it is under 16', but it needs to be titled (and sales tax paid).
I knew it might be a problem during the transaction (but did not listen to my gut), but they assured me it would not be and that she would help me if it turns out I needed her help. Spoiler alert, I need her help and she is unresponsive to emails and requests for help.
I have a host of problems getting this dinghy titled, starting with I have her name on the bill of
sale and his name is on the manufacturer's certificate of origin and the receipt from the
inflatable dealer. She is probably the only one who can go to the DMV to clear it up; even if I had the death certificate and will/POA, a smart person at the DMV would still want her to title it to pay her sales tax, so they can then charge me my sales tax/registration
fees.
What is my recourse to solve this? Since my nice emails are bring ignored, I am wondering if I can legally compel her or hold her accountable.
Did she break the law by selling me the dinghy without a title? Although she is the widow and presumably the rightful owner, the papwework does not reflect that.
If the law was broken, would it be criminal or civil? It feels like fraud to me.
Anyone familiar with
Florida law in this type of a scenario?