How would this be handled in a divorce?

Question

My husband and I are going thru a divorce right now. We have two vehicles. He has a truck that he's been driving and paying for for the last two years. I have a car that I have had for almost three years and been paying for. Both my car and his truck are in my name only. My lawyer said he could ask the judge to try and have him get it refinanced but of course he can't really make a bank extend a loan to my husband. My question is....is there a chance that I could get stuck with both vehicles. My husband doesn't have the best credit which is why they are in my name. Could the judge award him the truck and just make him continue to make payments? If he can't get it refinanced, it would at least be better if the judge says that he HAS to keep paying for it. If anyone knows how this works or has been thru something similar could you let me know how it works?

Answer 1

If the judge orders that he HAS to make the payments, it is a legal order and although the vehicle was originally in your name, the title would most likely be passed to him (through a sale) and you would no longer be responsible for payments on it. You would need to legally sell it to him to pass title.

Answer 2

You need to know if you live in a community property state, that makes a HUGE difference. Arizona is and here, if it was acquired during the marriage both of you are responsible for both payments. You can ask however that he be given the truck as well as the debt with it. Keep in mind though, a judge can order anything in a divorce BUT it is binding on you and hubby, not the creditors. Hence, if the creep bails on the loan, they come after you. That is what happened to me after my divorce and 7 years later, I am still getting calls for debts that were assigned to him in the divorce. It's ruined my credit but I am in the process of taking him back to the divorce court and asking the judge to garnish his wages to pay these debts. If possible it may be easier to HELP him refi so that you KNOW he can afford to keep the truck. If you do this, get a notarized statement saying that you are doing this to help HIM keep the truck and should he default on the payments you have the right to take him back to court for ALL expenses including but not limited to the full amount of the loan, court costs and any other associated costs. Good Luck Girl, it seems like kids' aren't the only things that keep exes talking after the D anymore.

Answer 3

Sell the truck, pay off the loan, give your husband what's left(if anything). Your husband can get into another vehicle without a bank loan. There are many 'ok' credit, or 'bad' credit car dealers, or he can go out and buy a $1000 car to drive for a year or so.

Answer 4

Yes to every question you just asked in that paragraph.

The best thing right now would be for YOU to decide if you want both vehicles or not, since they are in your name. if you dont want the truck...and HE DOES, then change the title right now--put it in his name.

And, btw, even if the loans are in your name only---in most if not all states, anything that occurs DURING THE MARRIAGE is JOINT, no matter if it's just you or just him on the loan--it's JOINT JOINT JOINT...bills, property, etc.

If the judge gives him the truck and he agrees to make the payments---please be very sure that you understand that your divorce decree is between YOU AND HIM ONLY---in other words, the loan company wont care what that paper says, that's "your problem"---if he defaults, it goes on YOUR CREDIT.

Answer 5

If that is what you are willing to do then if he doesn't pay he it'll be considered contempt of court. But none the less, by that time your credit will have a blemish. Best thing to do is tell him he can get it refinanced or you sell it. Or you both go trade it in, so you can sign to trade it in and he gets the new vehicle loan in his name only...trust me, they'll finance just about anybody, if he's willing to pay the interest rate to get credit.

Answer 6

how about you get stuck with both and you sell it to him? then all your problems are solved. you can pay off the loan with the money that he gives you, and i am sure he will have to get a loan himself, but if he can't because of his credit just make a contract that says he can drive the car but he has to pay you the payments so you can pay the car people, and if he defaults, you can take it back.

Answer 7

My ex went through this. the wife had the Mercedes and he had his car, both in his name. the judge awarded the merc and the payments to her. Of course she couldn't refi it for the same reasons as yours but she did make the payments. and eventually got it in her name. If you do end up getting it back on default, just sell it from under him

Answer 8

My question to you would be when you say the vehicles are both in your name do you mean the loans or the titles. And are both of your names on the vehicles? For example, are you the main person on the loan, and he is the co-signer. Or is he only on the title, but not on the loans as well as yourself? Or you are the only one on both the loans & the titles? Partially it depends on if you both can agree on the same terms & if his credit is good enough to get the loan on his own to refinance it or if he has someone else who is willing to co-sign or take a loan out for him. The only problem with someone taking out a loan for him in only that person's name is that he will be paying for something they can rightfully take from him unless both names can appear on the title/the other person will be stuck to pay for something if he doesn't having nothing to show for it unless both names are on the title. But in those instances they will probably wind up in court to dispute who gets the vehicle, etc. Or if he is willing to do that because sometimes rates could be much higher. Depending on how old the vehicles are sometimes a bank will not approve the amount you owe on it if the Kelly Blue Book value is lower than the amount owed on the vehicle, which is usually the case because depreciation is bad on vehicles as soon as you drive them off the car lot the amount drops drastically. It is not like real estate, which holds its value if you take care of or make improvement throughout the years it will be worth more later. The best thing to do is find out what blue book value is. You can do that on kellybluebook.com or go to/call your local bank or lawyer. Also if both your names are on the titles & loans you are both equally responsible. It depends on what state you live in as well. Every state has different laws, regulations, & statutes. Your lawyer can prove to be most useful, but it can also be very costly. If you both refuse to pay on both vehicles they will reposses them, ruining your credit, you will both be sued, making you both equally financially responsible. If you can be civilized please save each other a lot of time & money. No matter if it is handled in a civilized way or not there probably will be hard feelings regardless. Divorce is a very hard thing to go through. If you can I suggest trying to work things out through counseling. Sometimes you can get it free or be forced to get it by your spouse through a court order. Looking back on my decision to divorce I have regrets, and believe me everyone does. I still care about my ex-, and wonder if we could have worked things out...I probably will for the rest of my life partially because I spent many years with him. He is hard to replace because we had such a history together. He knew me better than anyone. We spent about 15 years together. I will always care about him. Our divorce was mostly civilized, but he was hurt by me leaving him then he made it harder for me. We saw each other at a funeral recently, and we hugged, etc. talked, but it still hurts even though I left him. We both are seeing other people now. I know these are the laws in PA, but they change frequently...and some of them should...but don't...some of them are very unfair...etc. I hope I was helpful. I don't know your circumstances, but I do wish you both the best. I know what a heartache it is to go through a divorce. If you'd like support through this bad time in your life I'd be willing to help you via e-mail. I'm sorry for what you're going through...I really am. I only had the support of my best friend throughout my divorce, and thank God for her because I think I would have been in a rubber room somewhere or 6 feet under the ground. It was an emotionally rollercoaster ride, which I hope to never have to repeat again in this lifetime. It was by far one of the worst experiences of my life, and I've been through a lot. I hope I answered your questions & that it was helpful. Sorry if this became long winded, but I wanted to try to be sure to answer your questions to the fullest extent of my ability from my experience. I didn't go back to edit this so I'm hoping it makes sense, and doesn't sound like I rambled on. Best Wishes! Oh, one more thing your lawyers will likely tell you not to talk to each other using all of your financial resources, and they tend to drag things out to make more money. Somethings are better left to the lawyers & others not. Each phone call to your lawyer costs you & anything they do for you. Use your best judgement & resources wisely. God bless you if you have children, a home, 401K, etc. it makes matters worse & more to worry about.