OK I live in Missouri and I bought a 31 year old boat, motor & trailer in Illinois through a Boat Angel charity auction. When I received the documents in the mail, it turned out that the donor was also a MO resident. The boat did have an Illinois title but the motor and trailer did not. Although the previous owner is a MO resident, the boat, motor and trailer were kept in IL for the entire 15 years that he owned them and therefor were not required to be titled in MO. The motor shouldn't be a problem since IL does not title motors, but they do title trailers and that's where I'm in a bind.
I didn't purchase from the previous owner, I purchased from the out of state charity that he donated to. However, the bill of sale provided by Boat Angel lists the donor so the BOS reads as if it were an in state purchase. I don't know how I prove to the DMV that the trailer and outboard actually came from IL. I was able to contact the donor and learned that he was the third owner. He knew the names of the first and second owners and stated that the motor had never been titled by any of them. The trailer however was titled in MO by the first owner but the second owner did not transfer it to her name and therefor had no title to transfer to the third owner. A Google search of the first and second owner's names turned up obituaries for both of them.
So where do I go from here? Has anyone here successfully obtained a new MO title without a previous title on a trailer purchased in another state that requires title? What did you have to do and what documentation did you have to show?
I didn't purchase from the previous owner, I purchased from the out of state charity that he donated to. However, the bill of sale provided by Boat Angel lists the donor so the BOS reads as if it were an in state purchase. I don't know how I prove to the DMV that the trailer and outboard actually came from IL. I was able to contact the donor and learned that he was the third owner. He knew the names of the first and second owners and stated that the motor had never been titled by any of them. The trailer however was titled in MO by the first owner but the second owner did not transfer it to her name and therefor had no title to transfer to the third owner. A Google search of the first and second owner's names turned up obituaries for both of them.
So where do I go from here? Has anyone here successfully obtained a new MO title without a previous title on a trailer purchased in another state that requires title? What did you have to do and what documentation did you have to show?