Parents forced me to sign a contract they made up

[Tott987]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania


My parents took out a personal loan in their names only not mine without my consent to pay off my car loan. I did not want them to do this because it would make my monthly payments go up by $100.00. Well my mom went behind my back and took the loan out and paid my car off. Now she wrote up this "contract" on her computer stating i have to pay them the loan back 100% or the car is theirs. Their names are nowhere on the title and my name is nowhere on the bank loan they got out. Regardless my parents sat me down and forced me to sign this contract that is not notarized and said if i dont sign it i will get kicked out;i have no where else to go so i signed it. If i decide to move out on my own can this "contract" my parents wrote up on the computer be used against me??

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law.

In common law, there are five key requirements for the creation of a contract. These are offer and acceptance (agreement), consideration, an intention to create legal relations, capacity and Formalities. In civil law systems, the concept of consideration is not central. In addition, for some contracts formalities must be complied with under what is sometimes called a statute of frauds.

Contract - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

if you did NOT agree to what they did, you don't have a contract since ACCEPTANCE is a vital part of that contract. So, LEGALLY, if don't sign, then no, you are NOT obligated.

Now, there is the moral part of this. There must have been something that prompted the parents to do this.

 

[Tott987]

re my parents forced me to sign a contract

ok see there is no morals missing. my mom is a control freak. i was miniulated into signing a non notarized contract by my parents. i just want to know if it can be used in court against me?

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

You signed it. Now, it could be said that you signed under duress. The parents could say that it's in exchange for that little thing called room & board. Could really go either way.

Might be time for you to stand on your own two feet and move out of home.

 

[Tott987]

Thats exactly what im trying to do, but if i leave with my car can they try and take me to court?

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Yes, they could. The car is in your name; you can take it. The parents have an unsecured "loan."

Out of curiousity, how old are you?

 

[Tott987]

im 21. jsut moved back in with them in june. i lived on my own for two years mom covinced me to come home and she would pay for me to finish going to school. that was a lie. i moved home and she isnt paying for it now. and has threatened to kick me out numerous times since ive been home because i dont spend time with her??? it goes way back trust me. my parents are divorced and my dad says she did the same stuff to him which is why he left. yada yada. but yes it is a personal loan she took out not even a car loan from the bank.

 

[Isis1]

im 21. jsut moved back in with them in june. i lived on my own for two years mom covinced me to come home and she would pay for me to finish going to school. that was a lie. i moved home and she isnt paying for it now. and has threatened to kick me out numerous times since ive been home because i dont spend time with her??? it goes way back trust me. my parents are divorced and my dad says she did the same stuff to him which is why he left. yada yada. but yes it is a personal loan she took out not even a car loan from the bank.

i say move out. they cannot claim your car. however, lets look at reality here. you should pay mom back. the last person on earth you should rob is your own mother. pay her back in payments the same amount as if you were paying the actual car loan bank prior.

 

[Tott987]

i know that and thats the last thing i want to do too. i want to pay her back but when i got my car loan from the dealership in teh end i was payin 12,000 the loan that my mom got out and forced me to will have me paying 19,000 for my car because her interest rate is thru the roof. my car is not worth that much thats like a brand new freakin car. i dont want to rob her of money thats a whole nother issue with her and my father between custody battles and all that jazz. BUT i do not want to pay that much to my mom bc she wouldnt let me keep my car loan i had on my own.

 

[Tott987]

this problem goes deep way deep. if you really want all the detaisl i will give them to you. i just want to know if that stupid computer signed contract can be held against me. they dont even have the original copy anymore its just a scanned version off the computer.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

then if you go to court, you could PROVE that you had a lower interest rate. The part of taking out a loan for a higher interest rate is HER choice. paying her back the principal is the moral thing to do. Any chance of refinancing it back to the lower interest rate?

 

[Tott987]

im not sure. Even if I do that im still going to have to owe my mom the rest of the loan she took out for 9,000.

 

[Ohiogal]

Problem is the contract. She did not sign it under duress. She chose to sign it. There is a contract promising to pay her mother back. However what was the consideration for the loan. That may not be there. And if not then it is not a contract. Take what you signed to an attorney.

 

[tranquility]

I'm not sure there is a contract either. Without the contract and the facts in front of us we cannot tell with the drip, drip, drip of more information. But, even if there is a contract, I'd be willing to bet it is not written up well enough to put a security interest on a vehicle where the parents can seize the car before a *court* finds breach. It is hard to "re" possess something never possessed.

If a parent and child are going to sue each other in court, there is a relationship problem there. Either party, or both, either need to work to resolve *that* problem or accept it will be there forever, move on and legally resolve all ties so both can be happier.

 

[Zigner]

It's not a "contract"...it's a promissory note