Cosigners

[Houtex]

We have a son who has gotten into drugs, cannot hold a job, and whom we
co-signed a vehicle for 1.5 years ago. Recently we repossessed the vehicle,
because he was not making payments on it, or the insurance.

Are there any legal ways to remove him from the title so the vehicle can be
sold. We are listed as the "Owner" on the title, with him as the "co-owner".

Obviously, he refuses to sign over the vehicle, or I would not be asking
this question.

We are in Texas by the way.

Thanks

[Stuart O. Bronstein]

Cosigners

"Houtex" <[email protected]> blurted out

We have a son who has gotten into drugs, cannot hold a job, and whom we co-signed a vehicle for 1.5 years ago. Recently we repossessed the vehicle, because he was not making payments on it, or the insurance. Are there any legal ways to remove him from the title so the vehicle can be sold. We are listed as the "Owner" on the title, with him as the "co-owner". Obviously, he refuses to sign over the vehicle, or I would not be asking this question. We are in Texas by the way.

Under common law a guarantor basically has the right to do what you
did. What I'd do is call the DMV to see if they know how to handle
it.

Stu

[Guest]

Cosigners

On 07 Aug 2003, "Houtex" <[email protected]> wrote:

[ We reside in Texas where about 1.5 years ago we co-signed for our son in his purchase of a vehicle for which we are listed as "Owner" and he as "co-owner". Because he has gotten into drugs, cannot hold a job, and was not making payments or maintining required insurance, we repossessed the vechicle. To enable use to sell it, are there any legal ways to remove him from the title? ]

Your implication that you chose when you guaranteed his loan not also
to have obtained from your son a power-of-attorney or like agreement
by which he authorized you to do what you now want if you believed for
good reason that he was in default in making payments and maintaining
insurance as/when he agreed makes even more important than it
otherwise is for you (carefully) to (re?)read the underlying purchase
and, above all, loan/financing agreements for what rights/remedies it
provides.

In so doing (reading carefully) pay special attention to whether you
might also want to consider negotiating with the original seller or
with the lender for one of them to invoke its/their (by your son:
agreed) remedies in case of your son's defaultfor them to take back
the car. Granted, so doing might seem (at least at first blush)
presumptively undesirable, if there is a reason to believe that an
arms-length sale to a third-party (if implementable) would generate
comparatively more funds; yet, as it is you who notes that your son's
continued status as uncooperative owner, if continued, will impose on
you costs/expenses of pursuing alternatives (e.g., your
promptly/well-focusedly suing him) aggravated by depreciation-related
considerations.

Depending what the very-same agreements to which you refer but the
terms of which you don't report in your posting/query provide, it
nonetheless (and: obviously) is open to you to sue him, perhaps for
equitable relief (e.g., "declaring" you as sole "owner") or at least
for damages (e.g., under "contribution" principles) to which he has
exposed you by reason of your default -- a process which might not
just be emotionally salutary but might also result in his yielding
vountarily (or defaulting).

In other words (and is almost always so with respect to newsgroup
queries like yours), the real-world results will turn on any number of
facts you haven't specified in your posting/query.

[Christopher Green]

Cosigners

"Houtex" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>. ..

We have a son who has gotten into drugs, cannot hold a job, and whom we co-signed a vehicle for 1.5 years ago. Recently we repossessed the vehicle, because he was not making payments on it, or the insurance. Are there any legal ways to remove him from the title so the vehicle can be sold. We are listed as the "Owner" on the title, with him as the "co-owner". Obviously, he refuses to sign over the vehicle, or I would not be asking this question. We are in Texas by the way. Thanks

Might take a court order. AFAIK, Texas doesn't have an "either/or"
registration such as California's (where, if the title reads "John Doe
or Richard Roe", either Doe or Roe can sell without the other's
consent or signature). So you've got to remove him as owner, and if
he's unsusceptible to lesser forms of persuasion, a court order
declaring you the owner might be the way to go.

You have some grounds for this. If I understand you right, you have
title and the incidents of ownership: you hold (and use, I suppose)
the car; you maintain it and insure it and make payments. He has
nothing but his name on the title, sometimes called "naked title".
That may be enough to allow the court to award title to you.

Don't try this without a lawyer; there will be procedural requirements
that you will want to get right the first time. And a Texas lawyer
(there's a good one, Zen Cohen, who posts here regularly) will know
what is the best way to get the job done.

--
Not a lawyer,

Chris Green

[Arthur L. Rubin]

Cosigners

(Mailed and posted)

Christopher Green wrote:

... So you've got to remove him as owner, and if he's unsusceptible to lesser forms of persuasion, a court order declaring you the owner might be the way to go.

Holding a gun to his head while he signs over the title
has been known to be effective, but is not recommended,
even in Texas. :-)

[Rancy Snyder]

Cosigners


"Richard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]

Houtex wrote:>>

We have a son who has gotten into drugs, cannot hold a job, and whom we co-signed a vehicle for 1.5 years ago. Recently we repossessed the vehicle, because he was not making payments on it, or the insurance. Are there any legal ways to remove him from the title so the vehicle

can

be sold. We are listed as the "Owner" on the title, with him as the "co-owner".

Obviously, he refuses to sign over the vehicle, or I would not be

asking

this question.

We are in Texas by the way. Thanks

Ask the texas department of motor vehicles.

Hold the phone. The parent stated that he "co-signed" for the son. Then
it later turns out that the parent was a "co-owner," and thus most likely a
"co-buyer." There is a big difference pursuant to the Fair Credit Practices
Act. Many car dealers have people sign as a co-buyer and call them a
co-signor but don't provide them with the required co-signer disclosure
form. It that was the case, then the car finance company or bank might not
have any recourse against the parents.