Good afternoon, Carlos.
I?m not licensed to practice law in Arizona, but since the registration of aircraft is a federal matter, I?m comfortable offering a little guidance. Also, Arizona has adopted the ?Uniform Probate Code? (UPC) which is a standardized set of laws dealing with Probate matters. I?m licensed to practice law in Colorado and Colorado, too, has adopted the UPC so my suggestions should be relevant.
If your father died as an Arizona resident and has an estate valued at over $50K, then you?ve probably already initiated a Probate proceeding. One of the first steps in a Probate proceeding is the appointment of a Personal Representative by the Probate Court. The Personal Representative is known in other states as an ?Executor.? The terms mean the same thing for purposes of this discussion.
As part of the process of naming a Personal Representative, the Court will issue ?Letters Testamentary? which is a piece of paper that is basically a super-powerful Power of Attorney. This allows the Personal Representative the authority to transfer the assets of the decedent according to the decent?s Will, if he left one, or according to the laws of the State, if there was no Will.
In order to transfer ownership of an aircraft, the FAA requires 2 pieces of paper: (1) A Bill of Sale (FAA Form 8050-2) and (2) an Aircraft Registration Application (FAA Form 8050-1).
To transfer the aircraft from your father?s name to your name, you will list the ?Estate of [Your Father?s Name]? as Seller and your name as buyer. Whoever has been named the Personal Representative of your father?s estate should sign the Bill of Sale. In the box labeled ?Title? you should type in ?Personal Representative.?
Send the original Bill of Sale along with the original Aircraft Registration Application to the FAA along with a Certified copy of the Letter?s Testamentary and a check for $5.00 and you should be good to go.
I?ve included a link to the Bill of Sale available for download from the FAA. Unfortunately, the FAA still requires you to use their carbon-copy old-fashioned form for the Aircraft Registration Application so you?ll have to request one of these from the FAA in Oklahoma City or pick one up at the Flight Standards District Office in Scottsdale. You may also be able to pick one up from a local aircraft broker or maybe even a flight school. I know several local flying-business-folks who keep extra copies in their offices so you may get lucky. If you end up calling Oklahoma City, their number is: 866-762-9394.
If your father died as a resident of a different state, the general process should be basically the same, but some of the names of the Probate documents may differ slightly.
FAA Bill of Sale
Hope this helps. Sorry for your loss.
