Duh, I let him keep the plates

I sent my friend off to Colorado with my Iowa car. I signed the title over to him but I failed to keep the plates and turn them in. So, because he is a friend I still have insurance (liability only) on the car but I want him to title it so I can cancel the insurance. He claims he can't title it (or even get a drivers license) becasue of an outstanding ticket in Mich which I doubt he has money to pay.

I want to know what liability I've exposed myself to here. If I drop the insurance and he runs into somebody will they come after me since he has no money? I should've taken the plates. What can I do now or do I need to do anything? Thanks!

I know in NY you can go to the police station and fill out a form for lost/stolen plates, backdating it to the day your friend left with the plates. You then take that form to DMV in lieu of the plates and turn it in. You can then drop the insurance. I'd tell your friend you're doing it on such and such a date though, because if he's pulled over and the plates come back stolen he's screwed (in addition to being screwed for no DL).

Thanks for the reply. I will look into cancelling the registration and/or reporting the plates as lost/stolen. My only real concern is any liability I may be exposed to. I need to know that if I cancel my plates/registration on this vehicle that I will not be able to be held liable for any property or bodily injury damages done by the vehicle in an accident. The guy is a long time friend but unreliable. I don't mind keeping the vehicle insured for a couple months if he's going to make a good faith effort to title it and/or have his girlfriend title it but if he's going to 'flake out' like he's known to do I want to know that I'm not liable any longer.

I've sold a bunch of cars in my life to strangers and once I sign that title over and turn in the plates its out of my hands...I certainly can't force a stranger to re-title the car so the liability ends at the end of the transaction. You should call your state DMV and ask them what you do if after you sell a car the new owner doesn't retitle it? I'm 99% sure their answer will be...nothing you can do. Because you haven't turned in the plates via the lost/stolen form, you ARE liable right now and its even riskier because he doesn't have a DL.

Just wanted to follow up that my friend finally did send me the license plates that I left on the car when I sold it to him. I turned them into my local DMV equivilent and even got a refund for the remainder of the year. I've since cancelled the insurance. I feel pretty safe from liabilty now. I can't force the buyer to register or title the vehicle I sold him. It's out of my hands now.