Now the B.S. begins
I agree, It is very hard to let go of this car. But I may be forced to. I am going to try and contact legal aid in North Carolina on Monday and also call the NC DMV Fraud and Theft Division and ask for their advice. other than that I really do not know what to do.
And it comes back to your first sentence.
You may have to.
Yes, we know a crime has beem committed. In your shoes I'd want to get justice, too.
But, realistically, it's a crime you opened the door for ages ago, by not covering yourself in the first place.
You didn't know NC law enough to know in the event of the deceased that property becomes divided. (That alone sounds suspicious to me... A conservative state that doesn't transfer ownership to the spouse just doesn't sound right.)
There have been crimes against you committed from the start.
I get what situation you were in, but somewhere along the way, y'all lost your heads and didn't protect yourselves by putting a will in place. We're not talking about a few books or movies, we're talking about property that's transferable only by the state.
You didn't go to the DMV as you were able with your marriage license, the titles, and the death certificate to transfer everything into your name. If you were told right then and there that they become shared property then you could have worked to resolve the issue, right then and there.
The crime is mine for not reaching out and helping you as much as I could through this.
The recriminations of the past are part of learning for your future.
The fact is, I see this is you came apart. Completely and totally. And it reinforces my belief that men aren't "allowed" to grieve, so therefore many don't know "how." No wonder so many men turn to drugs and alcohol and cheap sex after the death of a loved one. I say this as a brother. I know. I've been there and got the t-shirt to prove it. And it's had long term psychological damage.
Some of us simply don't want to see you go further down that rabbit hole and sacrifice what you've gained.
Do what you see fit. Be prepared that it won't work in your favor as you're three thousand miles away, dealing with cops and lawyers in another state of which your step daughter is a citizen. And you're not.