Starting Over
ScissorsAkimbo
member
Car is in his name - my rights?
DH took the car that he bought "for me," leaving me with no notice or time to buy the loan from him or buy/rent another car (not that I could afford it).
The car is in his name, but he absolutely made it clear over the years that it was my car. He referred to it as "Mommy's car" and when he paid for it, he said it was for me.
He has been making the payments so, legally, it is his.
What rights (if any) do I have here? Can he take the car outright or does he "owe" me any time to find a new one or chance to buy it from him?
We haven't even filed yet so we are still married.
TIA
Re: Car is in his name - my rights?
Legally, I would think it belongs to both of you because it is marital property. It doesn't matter whose name the car is in or who pays for it. But I think the fact that it is only in his name means you would have a hard time getting it back until a divorce makes the determination of "who gets what" property.
Not a lawyer, no legal advice. Just my opinion on how the law usually seems to work during a separation.
I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you are having. Do you all have children together and has he been the main provider? If so, you are probably entitled to child/spousal support, even while separated. Protect whatever other assets you have, ie bank accounts. Speak to a divorce attorney. Look to see if there are resources for you to find a low cost one and/or legal aid to at least help with the child support issue.
You need to talk to an attorney. With the title in his name, there is nothing stopping him from going and selling that car. I have heard that when couples fight over cars and there are multiple cars, sometimes each party will be awarded the vehicle that was their primary vehicle. But that has to be done either through an agreement between you and ex or ordered by the courts.
If you have kids together, and a job, try to appeal to ex stating I realize things are bad between us but if I don't have a car I can't go to work and if I can't go to work how am I suppose to do my share of providing for the kids and also making sure they get to things they need to get to like the doctor, child care, etc.