[PeteBrown]

Thanks for all the comments. My mom's husband is the only signatory so Hyundai can pursue his estate which has enough assets to pay off the full amount of the lease.

Unfortunately, Hyundai does not provide a payoff mechanism for terminating the lease without paying off the remaining 33 months. In other cases outside of Hyundai, the finance company auctions the car and the leasee is responsible for the difference between the auction price and the current residual value of the car, resulting in a $1,000-$10,000 obligation. This car has depreciated nearly 50% in one year so the difference is about $13-15,000.

No car was traded in and there was no negative equity applied to the lease. In contrast there was a $4,500 capital cost reduction because I think the car was a demo with 5,000 miles on it.

In the end, Hyundai wants to be paid the full amount of the lease, including all interest and depreciation. I find it interesting that the car has depreciated in the market the full amount it was under-written to experience in 4 years and 60,000 miles later.

I will keep you posted with what we do.