Ex-wife is wrecking my credit!

What is the name of your state? Texas
It seems like my problem should have a simple solution, but like most things, I’m sure it does not.
I was married in Dec99 and filed for divorce in May03. The divorce was final in Oct03. Between us, there was no property, no kids. Both of us had our own vehicles. I have a 2002 Toyota RAV4 and my ex wife has a 2003 Toyota Corolla. On her vehicle, I am the primary person on the loan and she is the co-signer. In mediation, we agreed that we would both be responsible for our own vehicles. She got to keep the Toyota Corolla and would be responsible for the payments. She had always made the payments on her own vehicle while we were married.
Here is the question I have. I call to check on the loan status every now and then. She is making late payments and sometimes not paying at all! This is going on my credit report, but I am not going to pay on her vehicle unless I can take it and sell it. I know I should probably go talk to my lawyer at this point, but what should I expect to hear from him?
I feel pretty helpless here. I don’t want to pay on the vehicle while it is in her possession, because she will depend on me to always make the payments, which I cannot do. If I did have the vehicle, I would turn around and sell it. She will not turn the car over to me, and I don’t want to be the bad guy to take that car away from her and leave her without a car. I can tell this is going to take a lot of money to get out of this situation. Please help direct me in what course of action I should take. I don't want a repo on my credit history!

[DrewfromCA]

be the bad guy.


Take your car back and sell it. If she agreed to pay the rest of it and is not, and that hurts you, then do something about it. Shoot, it's only a Corolla for Christ's sake...(not to sound snobby, but they aren't exactly expensive).

Bad credit can cost you THOUSANDS in interest over the life of car loans, home loans, etc....

Good luck man!

[snodderly]

Is it spelled out in your divorce decree that she is responsible for the payments on the Toyota? If so, call the finance company, tell them you have a court ordered divorce decree stating she is responsible and you want your name off the loan.

Why didn't you have her refinance the car in the first place and have your name removed? If the finance company won't be of any help then go get the car and sell. I'm not sure why you are concerned about the welfare of someone who is actively ruining your credit anyway.

Us women like a good guy....but only up to a certain point!
snodderly

The finance company is not going to care that your wife assumed responsibility for this vehicle in your divorce. Ultimately you are the one who will be held accountable for the payment of the loan regardless of what your decree says. If you value your credit you need to have her refinance the vehicle to get your name off of the loan or take back possesion of the car and sell it.

[BeenAround]

Take back your vehicle. Hire a tow-truck. Call a cop. Let it be HER headache to do something about this car. If the car is under your name, I doubt there is much that she can do about it, unless she is wealthy enough to afford an attorney just to annoy you with knick-knacks. But if she had that kind of money, she'd be making payments on the car. Most likely, she will call and beg you for the car back. At that time, you can demand that she puts the car under her name, or she can take a bus.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by BeenAround

Take back your vehicle. Hire a tow-truck. Call a cop. Let it be HER headache to do something about this car. If the car is under your name, I doubt there is much that she can do about it, unless she is wealthy enough to afford an attorney just to annoy you with knick-knacks. But if she had that kind of money, she'd be making payments on the car. Most likely, she will call and beg you for the car back. At that time, you can demand that she puts the car under her name, or she can take a bus.

Uh....her name is on it too. He can't just take it an sell it, not without her signature. Also, since it was awarded to her in the divorce he legally can't take it anyway. I think he needs to go back to court and get the judge to order that she must refinance it in her own name.

I am the primary person on the loan, she is the co-signer. In the divorce decree, it states that she is responsible for the total amount of the loan for that car and she is awarded the car (2003 Corolla). Her credit is so bad, no bank will give her a loan to put it under her name. She cannot find anyone either to co-sign for her. I called the credit company last Friday, and sure enough, I have a late payment history on my credit report now. So I called her yesterday and told her this...
I gave her 2 choice. Choice # 1. She can find someone to refinance the car as a co-signer or she can find another bank to get a loan from. I explained that she would get lower payments if she could do this.
Choice # 2. I will sue her for noncompliance with the divorce decree. I have already consulted with a lawyer and I can do this.
I gave her 10 business day to complete either choice 1 or 2. I would really like things to work out easy with choice # 1, but I told her that I do have the time and resources to get a lawyer and sue her. She insists that she is making the payments on the car, but not according to the bank. The car is upside down by about 4,000$, so I would be taking a big loss with selling it. I wish I could just go over there with a tow truck and the cops, but the divorce decree states that she is awarded the car. :-( I don't want the piece of junk, I just want it out of my name!

[BeenAround]

Oh, her name is on the car...ouch. Why did you agree to such terms of divorce... too late now, I guess.

Well, I have a vehicle that is my name only, and the car has me as a co-signer. The only reason I did this was to help out her credit. You kinda do those thing when your married (only lasted 3 years). If we would have gone to trial, the judge would have gave her the car anyway, she always made the payments before.

[VeronicaGia]

What horrible advice on this post!

File a contempt of court action against her in family court and let a judge hash it out. The finance company doesn't give a rat's ass what the judge ordered. You both signed, you are both responsible for the payment. However, a family court judge will care that she is purposely making late payments and destroying your credit which is against the court order. See if a judge could force the sale of the vehicle or force her to refinance it within 30 days of the hearing or forfeit the vehicle entirely.

I spoke with my lawyer today and he is telling me it would be a waste of time and money to try and do anything about this. Yes, I can take her to court and sue her for non-compliance with the divorce decree, but I will probably not see one red cent. I don't think any judge out there is going to take that car away from her and give it back to me so I can sell it. She has to have a way to work right?
Is there no law out there that can protect me or will I just pay for this mistake (marriage) for the rest of my life? I've always protected my cedit history, but I feel like there is nothing I can do here! Any suggestions?

[DrewfromCA]

You are indeed in a tough spot. And since the car is upside down by $4k, then yes, you don't even want to sell it. How much do you owe on the Corolla? I say you because it is in your name. You might be best off just keeping track of the payments, and hounding your ex.

You are between the proverbial rock and hard place. Good luck!