Untrustworthy Ex

[lblanchette]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Ca
My fiance and I are both divorced parents, I have sole custody and he has joint custody. He and I just purchased a home together (both on the loan) in February. His 17 year old son lives with us full time and visits with his mother. His son has a driver's license but does not have a car to drive in our home and refuses to contribute financially to the cost of insurance so he is not allowed to drive when with us. His mother has a spare car and has been allowing him to drive the car when he is visiting her, she does not have insurance for him either. She does not own a home. We have asked her to not allow him to drive without insurance but she feels she has nothing to lose. My fear is that he will be involved in an accident and his father and I will lose everything. My question is: is there any way to force her to either get insurance for him or to not allow him to drive (i.e. force and desist) and if she does not comply can we protect our investment? I don't want to lose my home and I have seen this kid drive - it's just a matter of time before he gets into a serious accident.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by lblanchette

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Ca
My fiance and I are both divorced parents, I have sole custody and he has joint custody. He and I just purchased a home together (both on the loan) in February. His 17 year old son lives with us full time and visits with his mother. His son has a driver's license but does not have a car to drive in our home and refuses to contribute financially to the cost of insurance so he is not allowed to drive when with us. His mother has a spare car and has been allowing him to drive the car when he is visiting her, she does not have insurance for him either. She does not own a home. We have asked her to not allow him to drive without insurance but she feels she has nothing to lose. My fear is that he will be involved in an accident and his father and I will lose everything. My question is: is there any way to force her to either get insurance for him or to not allow him to drive (i.e. force and desist) and if she does not comply can we protect our investment? I don't want to lose my home and I have seen this kid drive - it's just a matter of time before he gets into a serious accident.

You have some options. First...if he is an occasional driver and the car itself is insured, I am not sure that you have that much to worry about. Since she is not the custodial parent its possible that her insurance would cover him as an occasional driver with a valid license. However car insurance laws vary greatly from state to state...so do some research on that.

Second...there is a type of insurance available that most people don't know much about. Its a general liability policy that covers anything that regular insurance doesn't cover. Its very common for businesses, but most people don't realize that its available for individuals as well.

My father is a retired insurance agent. When I got my pool he insisted that I get the general libability policy. I still have it 15 years later. It costs me 17.00 a month. I think that type of insurance is almost a MUST for anyone with teenagers. Have a talk with your insurance agent...there may be something available to you like that. Don't tell your agent that you are worried about the child driving without insurance...tell your agent that you are worried about something happening at mom's home that could make you liable.

[lblanchette]

Thanks, I'll look into the general liability insurance.

On paper she is the custodial parent but because she cannot handle him for extended periods of time he now lives with us but nothing legal has been written. I have talked to a couple attorneys over the phone and was told that should he have an accident he will be found at fault because he is uninsured and since he is a minor and they have joint legal custody, both parents become financially responsible. To that end, the other party would go after the parent's insurance and since he is uninsured it would be homeowner's insurance. Since she does not own anything it would default to our policy. If the claim were large enough and the homeowner's policy didn't cover it the attorney told me they would force the sale of the house and so on possibly culminating in both parents having to pay for a number of years. She will say one day that she will support us and follow through with whatever rules we lay out and the next she does the exact opposite. . . .