How is The Kentucky Bill of Sale the Happy Bridge Between a Seller and a Buyer?

Don't you want to sell your personal property legally to avoid legal setbacks later on or false accusations? How about you, the interested buyer, wouldn't you want full ownership of the used car, laptop, dog, horse, boat, gun, or furniture you are planning to buy?

While some sellers and buyers fail to establish a happy ground in the transaction and the subsequent transfer of ownership, most parties get to avoid problems in the sale or purchase of personal assets thanks to a document called a bill of sale.

As described above, it's a middle ground and also a proof of ownership. And, you guessed it right; it puts smiles on the faces of the seller and the buyer the day of the sale's completion, and years after the purchase.

To be specific, a bill of sale is a legally binding document drawn by a seller to recognize the sale of the item in question and to facilitate the transfer of ownership. You have to fill out our free Kentucky bill of sale forms to kickstart the process. This document is only complete upon signing by the buyer and the seller. Like other legal documents, this proof of sale document, also called a BOS, recognizes two parties: the seller and the buyer.

Since the BOS represents the conditions for the sale of different items, all states have different types of BOS which have small or big differences.

But, before we look at these documents and how you can make them legal and complete in Kentucky, here are the general features of all the BOS. Also, note that as per February 2018, the state of Kentucky doesn't recognize notarization as the process of making the BOS legal.

All BOS documents have:

Seller and buyer information: This includes the full legal names of the buyer and the seller. This information also included the full addresses of the parties involved - the state, city, and the zip code. The driver's license numbers or the state identification numbers are also necessary. These details are crucial in the identification of the seller, or the buyer should the item on sale get lost or if it's stolen and identification or proof of ownership is required.

Item description: this has the technical and the unique attributes of the item on sale.

Dates. Date it is created and the date that the final payment is expected from the buyer. The other important date for any BOS in the state of Kentucky and our free bill of sale form in Kentucky is the date that the seller and the buyer confirm the sale or purchase of the specific item.

Purchase, trade or gift: the BOS should indicate whether the BOS is finalizing the sale of an asset for money, trade with another item, or if the buyer is receiving the item on sale as a gift.

The price of the item on sale. For all the documents, the price should be indicated first in words and then in numbers.

The seller's disclosure: This is an important provision in the BOS. The disclosure serves as an official certification which informs the buyer that the item on sale either has listed defects or that it's free of defects. This was, it will be noted that the buyer knew what they were getting into when buying that item. The disclosure also protects the seller from any liability after the sale is finalized.

Signatures: all Kentucky proof of sale documents must be signed and dated against the names of the buyer and the seller.

TYPES

Motor Vehicle BOS in Kentucky

Although you cannot use a BOS for a motor vehicle in place of a title, the BOS is an essential document which proves that the buyer possesses the car even before they register the car with the DMV. At the same time, you need a BOS as a record for taxation purposes, and protection should the buyer abandon the vehicle or fails to register it within the stipulated time.

Besides the names, signatures and the addresses of the buyer and the seller, and the vehicle's identification number, the model, make, year, and the date of sale, the odometer readings are necessary. The odometer figures should also be accurate. The state also requires the signature or the acknowledgment of the notary public for its validity.

General BOS

This is the document used to prove the sale and the transfer of ownership of personal property, including household items from a seller to a buyer. Some of the items whose ownership rights and interests can be sold from one person to another include phones, laptops, gym equipment, furniture, a bicycle, among others.

The most important thing here is the description of the BOS which should have the registration number or the serial number of the item on sale, its make, model, year, size, shape, and the color, to name a few. Note that you should note down the description of a television or a laptop as an electronic device in the BOS.

BOS for Guns

Other than the general information above, the BOS for guns requires specific information like the firearm's serial number, the caliber, its make, and the model. Note that trades are common in sales involving guns hence the need for the inclusion of the details of the item traded for the gun.

To get this and other types of BOS documentation, fill one of our free bill of sale forms available online and downloadable from any city in the state of Kentucky.