elliep

I'm having a bit of a dilemma and hoping some of you may have some advice as to what I should do... I'll keep it as short as possible!!

When I moved over to the US in August 07, my now ex and I bought 2 cars, cash, both of which we paid 50% for, and the title is in BOTH our names, although is worded XXXXX XXXXXX OR Ellie P, rather than AND. I am aware that this means that either of us can sell the car etc without needing the signature of the other. (I currently own a car solely in my name, which was paid for by me, and so have not used the 'shared' cars since last May)

He and I split up in October, and despite repeated efforts, he has not responded to any forms of communication which has involved me trying to initiate a conversation in which we can sort something out as to him buying me out etc.

As I am named on the title of both cars, am I legally entitled to drive them as he has been doing so.. If so, if I found the car, could I technically drive it out of the parking lot (I still have a set of keys) and keep it in my possession until we reach some agreement?
I am assuming that as the wording on the title is 'OR' he is well within his rights to trade the car in, and have the new title on the new car in just his name, therefore, I lose out completely?

My final question (sorry!!) is that if I went to the tax office and got a duplicate certificate of title (the old one is nowhere to be found), that that will effectively overrule the previous copies, therefore, he can't sell the car?

Sorry for the long-winded post, just I am at my wits end trying to find the best way to resolve this-being as civil as possible. If anyone has any suggestions, they would be much appreciated... I'm still kicking myself for being such a fool in the first place

Thank you one and all,

E

fatbrit

Were/are you married?
Which state are you in?

elliep

Not married and in Florida

fatbrit

Yep -- but I'd check at MVD that he hasn't already re-titled it, in which case you can't. Just order a duplicate to find out.

Sue him in civil court. How much money are we talking about here?

It won't stop him selling the car. You need to change the title to AND or to your name only if you want to prevent him from selling it.

Tarkak9

Be very careful with that one... depending where the car is you could be charged with trespassing and land yourself in a fuss. As twisted as it may seem, auto theft could be slapped on you too until such things are resolved. Ownership and legal possession are two seperate things. You might try to argue unlawful withholding.


what's to stop him for doing the same thing too over and over again?

you may need to somehow take this matter to civil court or at the very least consult an attorney.

The only way I can see to prevent him to sell the car etc is to somehow cloud the title... such as a lien or declared interest in the car; ie a recorded interest. Suppose you were to lend him 5k and had in writing that the car is held as collateral for that 5k... then imo you're initial interest is 5k and not 5k plus 50% of the car (that's a seperate issue). You need to somehow arrange for 'AND' to be on title so that you have a joint interest in the car. If you do try to cloud the title, you need to check if such action has an adverse legal ramification upon you.

elliep

If I were to drive the car away myself, I wouldn't do it from private property ie, his parent's house. The car is in one of two places; home or at work. For work he uses a parking lot shared with Publix etc so I would again assume, that I would not be trespassing as it is not private property.

How would I go about clouding the title? Would I need various forms of proof that I have a vested interest in the car, or would my name on the title be enough?

As I'm here as an F1 student, I really want to tread carefully as I don't want to end up with auto theft, trespassing, or worse to my name!! As a LPR, will he get the benefit of the doubt in this situation if it went to small claims etc?

elliep

I'll try and order a duplicate today and find out- can I change it to AND at the same time?

We're talking $5500 between the two cars, though not expecting to get all of that back as that was 17 months ago.

Thank you for your advice so far!

fatbrit

So it's not a couple of Porsche's, is it? Instead of trying the risky stuff, why don't you just file a small claims case for a couple of grand stating that he has possession of both cars and you want your money back? Your immigration status is irrelevant.

elliep

Granted, it's not a huge amount of money, but when you're unable to work, a couple of grand does help pay the bills!

fatbrit

http://www.circuit8.org/sc/ looks helpful.

Giantaxe

Yeh, that's what I would do. File in small claims and hope it convinces him to hand over one of the vehicles or pay you for it. If not, show up in court...

Rete

Do you have the bill of sale and/or a copy of it. Does the BOS have both your names down as purchasers? If so, then you have legal claim to 1/2 of the value of the vehicle.

I have to ask, why you did it the way you guys did? It makes absolutely no sense at all. Each of you paid 50% for a car x 2 but the titles indicate they belong to only one person. Why did you not just pay cash outright for one entire vehicle in each of your names?

elliep

No bill of sale- it was bought privately and for some reason, we never got one.... with hindsight, I'm guessing that was a bad move.

We did it that way as when we first moved over, we only needed one car between us, so went 50/50. It was only a few months later that we actually needed a second car, and so did the same thing on that. One car was the 'sensible' 4 door, the other, a not so sensible Miata... If the two cars were like for like, it would have been a lot easier!

elliep

Thank you- definitely a good place to start!

Bob

What's the state of the insurance? Not that I'd suggest it, but if covered, I'm sure some scary people could torch it...