Section 1548.11. Ownership of vehicle changed by operation of law

(A) In the event of the transfer of ownership of a watercraft or outboard motor by operation of law, as upon inheritance, devise, bequest, order in bankruptcy, insolvency, replevin, or execution of sale, or whenever the engine of a watercraft is replaced by another engine, a watercraft or outboard motor is sold to satisfy storage or repair charges, or repossession is had upon default in performance of the terms of a security agreement as provided in Chapter 1309. of the Revised Code, a clerk of a court of common pleas, upon the surrender of the prior certificate of title or the manufacturer's or importer's certificate, or, when that is not possible, upon presentation of satisfactory proof to the clerk of ownership and rights of possession to the watercraft or outboard motor, and upon payment of the fee prescribed in section 1548.10 of the Revised Code and presentation of an application for certificate of title, may issue to the applicant a certificate of title to the watercraft or outboard motor. Only an affidavit by the person or agent of the person to whom possession of the watercraft or outboard motor has passed, setting forth the facts entitling the person to possession and ownership, together with a copy of the journal entry, court order, or instrument upon which the claim of possession and ownership is founded, is satisfactory proof of ownership and right of possession. If the applicant cannot produce such proof of ownership, the applicant may apply directly to the chief of the division of watercraft and submit such evidence as the applicant has, and the chief, if the chief finds the evidence sufficient, may authorize the clerk to issue a certificate of title. If the chief finds the evidence insufficient, the applicant may petition the court of common pleas for a court order ordering the clerk to issue a certificate of title. The court shall grant or deny the petition based on the sufficiency of the evidence presented to the court. If, from the records in the office of the clerk, there appears to be any lien on the watercraft or outboard motor, the certificate of title shall contain a statement of the lien unless the application is accompanied by proper evidence of its extinction.

(B) Upon the death of one of the persons who have established joint ownership with right of survivorship under section 2131.12 of the Revised Code in a watercraft or outboard motor and the presentation to the clerk of the title and the certificate of death of the deceased person, the clerk shall enter into the records the transfer of the watercraft or outboard motor to the surviving person, and the title to the watercraft or outboard motor immediately passes to the surviving person. The transfer does not affect any liens on the watercraft or outboard motor.

(C) The clerk shall transfer a decedent's interest in one watercraft, one watercraft trailer, one outboard motor, or one of each to the decedent's surviving spouse as provided in section 2106.19 of the Revised Code.

(D) Upon the death of an owner of a watercraft or outboard motor designated in beneficiary form under section 2131.13 of the Revised Code, upon application of the transfer-on-death beneficiary or beneficiaries designated pursuant to that section, and upon presentation to the clerk of the certificate of title and the certificate of death of the deceased owner, the clerk shall transfer the watercraft or outboard motor and issue a certificate of title to the transfer-on-death beneficiary or beneficiaries. The transfer does not affect any liens upon any watercraft or outboard motor so transferred.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 64, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2015.

Effective Date: 07-23-2002; 09-16-2004