Towing Issues: Claiming vehicle w/ pink slip not in my name., tow company, legal address

Question
Had my car towed in San Diego, CA. I inherited the vehicle from my mom deceased. The pink slip and registration still in here name but, address was changed to my legal address on my drivers license. The tow company will not release the car to me because it still has her name as registered owner. Can they hold the car till I get DMV papers changed to my name, even thou  I have pink in hand and my address on registration ??

Answer
well I am not sure exactly what the procedure is on this, but I would think that California DMV would be able to change the information and title with a copy of the legal papers giving you the vehicle (the will or probate paperwork)

Now if the tow company is being a stickler to paperwork and state law (which in California they get fined for not following the laws) you might bring in the will, a death certificate and the rest of the paperwork to the tow company and have a manager or the owner talk with you about it. After all this is not really an uncommon issue and I am sure they have seen this before.

But legally, they are following the law as they are supposed to only release the vehicle to the registered owner per DMV records. And it sounds like they are following them.

Now you did not mention why the vehicle was towed, and that might have some bearing on what is happening, but my crystal ball is cloudy today and I can not get a good read of what the reason for towing was.


Hope this helps