28 Jun My husband died. Why can’t I buy out his car lease?

Q. My husband died. He had a car lease in his name. I continued to pay the lease and now I want to purchase the car. The dealer says I can’t. What can I do?
— Widow

A. We’re sorry to hear about your husband.

You may be stuck.

When a person leasing a vehicle passes away, most of the time the lease does not die with the person, said Bill Connington of Connington Wealth Management in Paramus.

He said the future of the car lease is determined by the provisions in the contract.

“Some car leases have death to be a cause of early termination,” he said. “Often, payments still need to be made and the payments become the responsibility of the deceased car lessee’s estate.”

Sometimes, Connington said, car dealerships will negotiate with the personal representative of the deceased’s estate and may be able to transfer the remaining lease to another person.

And sometimes, a car dealership may waive the early termination due to the unfortunate situation, however this is not always the case, he said.

“The future of the car lease solely depends on the provisions in the agreement and the willingness of the car dealership to negotiate of the deceased car lessee,” he said.

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This story was originally published on June 28, 2023.

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