Car Ownership

[justinb911]

My wife allowed her mom to finance a car in her name, with her mom as a cosigner. Mom has possession of and makes payments on the car. Wife is now wanting the car out of her name, but mom isn't agreeing to do it, claiming she won't be able to finance it in her name.

My question is what is within our legal rights? Can we take possession of the car since wife's name is on the lien? Can we take wife's name off of the lien without mom's consent?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mightymoose]

Who is the vehicle registered to? It does not matter who's name is on the loan.

 

[justinb911]

I believe it is registered to my wife. The license plate has an august sticker, and her mom's birthday is in September.

Thanks.

 

[mightymoose]

If it is registered to your wife she can likely take possession of the car with no legal consequences. If she is the only registered owner then she may want to sell the car to get out from under the loan.
If mom is also on the registration then it could be more complicated.

 

[justinb911]

Would it be within our rights to give an ultimatum, say "You have 7 days to transfer the registration or we're taking the car"? And would we have a leg to stand on if we did that?

 

[disagreeable]

I suggest you allow your wife and her mom to work this out. You will be wrong and the cause of any breach, it is axiomatic.