Location: Illinois
So my boyfriend (29) a few years ago, gets told that his parent’s old car is now “his to drive” gets handed the keys and told to pay the monthly payments. (No written contract of any kind, barely a verbal one if you could call it that.)
The car is in his parent’s name, everything. My boyfriend would send her money to pay for the car payment (my boyfriend asked for the car in his name but she refused to sign the car over to him ) which ended up to be the best scenario because a year ago the engine died and it needed a lot of repairs. He didn’t want to put thousands of dollars into it but his parent didn’t want to listen to any other suggestions especially about getting rid of the car. (He also paid for all of the repairs in his name, not his parents, his parent helped him with ONE.)
He’s had no say-so in the fate of this car. She only let him do exactly what she said and that’s it.
This caused a lot of strain between them and now he is no contact with her (for a lot of reasons but this being the final push) due to her sending a lot of threatening and harassing texts (even going as far as to say she’d commit fraud essentially and sign up for a loan using his information – yes we have all the screenshots)
And when he went no contact she sent an email saying she was “done” and that she was going to get the car (he just dropped it odf after work and left it in the driveway to avoid confrontation but they got the car).
While she certainly hasn’t been “done” (there is a police report now and a no contact order filtering due to her stalking and harassing him in multiple ways) she recently sent him an email with an attached letter with a summons and an amount of close to 7k (in her name) and saying that she will take him to court in 30 days if he doesnt contact her and that shes “coming for him”.
I don’t think she has a solid case at all to prove that he should be paying/ reliable for the 7K, but I think getting more opinions would help him feel at ease.
I would appreciate any help!!
Comments
Part of the whole purpose of registering titles for expensive things like cars is to make it very clear who owns them. If the title isn’t in your name, you don’t own the car with some possible very limited exceptions. That doesn’t change if you make car payments. It doesn’t change if you repair the car. If the car is titled in the parent’s name, she owns it on the face of the face of the matter, and he would have to find an attorney to make a legal argument for his ownership, which I doubt would succeed.
Ironically enough, I suspect that the reason you emphasize that he’s making payments but his parent is very clear about control and ownership of the car is to make the case that your boyfriend owns the car…But it actually does the opposite. The fact that there’s a long history between them of the parent exercising control over the car while he’s been granted permission to drive it, but it’s titled in her name, makes it very clear that this wasn’t a gift that simply isn’t titled in his name because of an oversight.
NAL but in the legal field;
If the car is not in your BFs name and there is no contract between him and her, then legally, his mother is fully liable for the car, its repairs, and its payments.
He basically paid a subscription to use it for a while. Without any documentation signing over the car or the loan to him they don’t have a leg to stand on.