Re: N J lost titlleing procedure
They are sending me a 12 step & items procedure called ...Improper evidence procedure....
Sounds like I am a criminal & must collect enough data to prove I did not steal my own trailer since I bought it new.
Love governor Christe Sure has done a lot with all his state employees
I will have to run a newspaper ad to see if anyone besides me claims it is their stolen tralier.
Drugs & stupidity. Perfect in state governments.
First, NJ does not title trailers that physically weigh less than 2500lbs. I've tried, its not an option.
Second, have you ever had it registered in your name? Where did you buy it? It at one time had a Certificate of origin, that would have been forfeited in leiu of your first registration.
If you did indeed have it registered in your name, that alone is proof of ownership, all they need is the tag number or VIN number off the trailer to renew or reissue you a duplicate registration.
If the trailer does weigh over 2500lbs, (which would make it a rather large boat trailer), and you never had it registered since new and lost the Cert. of Orig. your screwed, other than calling it homemade and registering it that way.
The Improper Evindence procedure isn't a guarantee, its just their means of making sure you do all the work and go the distance to prove where you got it and that you rightfully own it.
I've been boating and towing trailers in NJ for 40 years, I've not yet owned a boat trailer heavy enough to qualify for a title, including the tri axle trailer that I owned under a 31' cabin boat, (a boat trailer simply doesn't have that much metal or weight).
In the end, even with the Improper evidence procedure completed, you still need a court order to get a missing title or proper registration for an unkown vehicle or trailer like that. I've gone through it twice, provided all the proper info, ran the ads, spent upwards of $350 each time and still did not get either title since a judge said that the original owner was alive and well and living in NJ. One boat had been sold via a police auction, the other abandoned in the ocean, set adrift. Both owners had refused to help, both owners refused to either sign off of the boat or sign it over. At that point there's no recourse.
I put both boats in an auction and let the next guy deal with it. In both cases the state marine police were involved and did everything they could to help. It was the judge that refused to make a decision in my favor. The whole process was a waste of time and money in the end.
For the one boat, the original owner had dumped the boat in a ditch along with a rusted out trailer. The local police had towed it, it sat in some city impound lot for 5 years before being auctioned off with a certificate that supposedly would get me a title. That wasn't the case. The DMV and the police are not on the same page here.
A hull and HIN inspection turned up the original owner, at his same address as before abandoning the boat, he had been fined for dumping the boat and had claimed it was loaned to a buddy when it got dumped. It was never reported or claimed as 'stolen'.
Police made several attempts to contact him, he was unreachable. The address listed was supposedly still good but no one answered either mail or the phone there. Attempts to reach him at work got only and answering machine. He wouldn't respond to the police nor myself trying to contact him. In the end the judge flat out said that it wasn't his problem to make him sign off the old title, or would he force him to get a replacement title to sign over. They would not issue a replacement title for me, the last owner had to do it, he wouldn't answer any communication, he never declined or refused anything, he just never would reply. Certified letters were sent, signed for but no response was ever received.
The judge said that since the boat had a title, it was up to me to produce it, or to get the old owner to either get a replacement or produce a signed original copy. They would not issue a new title in my name so long as there was someone alive who had the original title.
