Husband awarded upside down vehicle in divorce

[nj2009]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX
I cosigned on a vehicle with my now ex wife. The loan and the title are in both our names.
Our divorce was final in February of 2008 and in the divorce decree, I was awarded the vehicle. The decree also stated that I must refinance the car within 60 days of the divorce being final. I tried but the vehicle is upside down. I don't have the money to pay it down or trade it in and have higher payments due to the balance being rolled over.
Due to some financial problems, I was late on a few payments. I'm current on everything now and even make additional monthly payments toward the principle.
She won't sign the title over because she says her name will still be on the loan and she would rather have it repossessed than still be financially responsible for the vehicle years later. I tried to renew the vehicle registration and was told I could not because my ex wife filed a Vehicle Transfer Notice. Can she legally do that? She and I both still legally own the vehicle. From what I can see in the state of Texas, a VTN is used when you sell a vehicle. Now the car is illegal and I still have to make the payments. What are my rights?
Thank you for your time.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[mistoffolees]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX
I cosigned on a vehicle with my now ex wife. The loan and the title are in both our names.
Our divorce was final in February of 2008 and in the divorce decree, I was awarded the vehicle. The decree also stated that I must refinance the car within 60 days of the divorce being final. I tried but the vehicle is upside down. I don't have the money to pay it down or trade it in and have higher payments due to the balance being rolled over.
Due to some financial problems, I was late on a few payments. I'm current on everything now and even make additional monthly payments toward the principle.
She won't sign the title over because she says her name will still be on the loan and she would rather have it repossessed than still be financially responsible for the vehicle years later. I tried to renew the vehicle registration and was told I could not because my ex wife filed a Vehicle Transfer Notice. Can she legally do that? She and I both still legally own the vehicle. From what I can see in the state of Texas, a VTN is used when you sell a vehicle. Now the car is illegal and I still have to make the payments. What are my rights?
Thank you for your time.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

If you were awarded the vehicle, she cannot legally try to take ownership.

You are in contempt because you didn't refinance. While I can understand that that was not a reasonable requirement, it IS a court order, not a request.

Since you are in contempt, she can go back to court to have you punished for force you to comply. She can NOT take the law into her own hands and take the car back herself.

You have a number of options. First, you could bring the loan current and then demand that she follow the court order and sign the car over to you. Or, you could find a buyer and ask her to sign the car over to them, although you are likely to have to make up the difference.

Either way, the two of you need to learn to deal with conflict. You can either reach an agreement on how to handle things or the two of you will be back in court spending more than the car is worth trying to resolve it. Your choice.

 

[nj2009]

If you were awarded the vehicle, she cannot legally try to take ownership.

You are in contempt because you didn't refinance. While I can understand that that was not a reasonable requirement, it IS a court order, not a request.

Since you are in contempt, she can go back to court to have you punished for force you to comply. She can NOT take the law into her own hands and take the car back herself.

You have a number of options. First, you could bring the loan current and then demand that she follow the court order and sign the car over to you. Or, you could find a buyer and ask her to sign the car over to them, although you are likely to have to make up the difference.

Either way, the two of you need to learn to deal with conflict. You can either reach an agreement on how to handle things or the two of you will be back in court spending more than the car is worth trying to resolve it. Your choice.

Thank you for your response.
My ex wife is not trying to take ownership. She is trying to remove herself from the title of the vehicle without signing the title over to me (the bank holds the title.) This would be great except by her filing the Vehicle Transfer Notification, I cannot renew the registration of the vehicle. The way it was explained to me by the DMV was that the title is ultimately "in limbo." Thus, I can't legally drive the vehicle.
The car payments are up to date and I've been paying around $500 additional each month to go toward the principle. If I continue to do this for 4-6 more months, the car will no longer be upside down and I can sell or trade in. But I can't drive it now or afford a new vehicle. I want to keep paying the vehicle until it's no longer upside down and I can get out from under it without it hurting my credit.
I understand that I am in contempt for not refinancing. I have tried repeatedly. She would rather have the car repossessed than work on this civilly . My question is did she legally have the right to file the VTN on a car she (and I) still own? She filed paperwork through the DMV to remove her from liability, as if she sold the vehicle.

 

[mistoffolees]

Thank you for your response.
My ex wife is not trying to take ownership. She is trying to remove herself from the title of the vehicle without signing the title over to me (the bank holds the title.) This would be great except by her filing the Vehicle Transfer Notification, I cannot renew the registration of the vehicle. The way it was explained to me by the DMV was that the title is ultimately "in limbo." Thus, I can't legally drive the vehicle.
The car payments are up to date and I've been paying around $500 additional each month to go toward the principle. If I continue to do this for 4-6 more months, the car will no longer be upside down and I can sell or trade in. But I can't drive it now or afford a new vehicle. I want to keep paying the vehicle until it's no longer upside down and I can get out from under it without it hurting my credit.
I understand that I am in contempt for not refinancing. I have tried repeatedly. She would rather have the car repossessed than work on this civilly . My question is did she legally have the right to file the VTN on a car she (and I) still own? She filed paperwork through the DMV to remove her from liability, as if she sold the vehicle.

If filing a VTN interfered with your ownership rights, then she could not legally do that (although it's not clear that filing a VTN would do that). The problem is that straightening it out might be a mess.

What did DMV say you'd need to do to clear up the situation? They can probably help you to straighten it out.

 

[Crystolh19]

Same situation

I was awarded the car in our divorce, and just like above, I was unable to refinance. The court knew I would not be able to refinance, so it was stated that I simply pay him, however all paperwork, titles and otherwise are to be put in my name. My ex filed a VTN as well, when I took the VTN in to the DMV, along with divorce papers, I was told that I needed to have a letter from the lein holder, on a company letterhead, stating that I was allowed to claim title on the vehicle. They also made me aware that because of the VTN, I would not be able to register the vehicle until this was sorted out. I called the lein holder, asking for a letter, and they said the only way I could get title, was if I refinanced the car. "The courts have no say in this matter." Was exactly what I was told, by the bank.

I've tried working with him, both our lawyers contacted him, and told him working with me to have him reclaim ownership to get it titled, and registered, was in his best interest. But he insisted on taking the opportunity to try and rework the entire divorce agreement, including child support before he would do so. I didn't agree.

Now I'm facing two options, one, trade in the car, and hope I get approved, the car has a hefty upside down amount, and doing this will transfer that amount directly to me, so I don't have to pay him anymore, or let him reclaim the vehicle, and I suppose take me to civil court to work out the loss on the vehicle. My question is... if he reclaims, and uses the car as a trade in, or even sells it, I'm afraid he'd take a minimum trade in amount, or sell the car for less than its worth making the loss on the vehicle higher and forcing me to pay. How can I protect myself from this? He says I have til the end of Saturday at 6pm to deliver the car, or present him with notice that the note was paid in full.

 

[Proserpina]

I was awarded the car in our divorce, and just like above, I was unable to refinance. The court knew I would not be able to refinance, so it was stated that I simply pay him, however all paperwork, titles and otherwise are to be put in my name. My ex filed a VTN as well, when I took the VTN in to the DMV, along with divorce papers, I was told that I needed to have a letter from the lein holder, on a company letterhead, stating that I was allowed to claim title on the vehicle. They also made me aware that because of the VTN, I would not be able to register the vehicle until this was sorted out. I called the lein holder, asking for a letter, and they said the only way I could get title, was if I refinanced the car. "The courts have no say in this matter." Was exactly what I was told, by the bank.

I've tried working with him, both our lawyers contacted him, and told him working with me to have him reclaim ownership to get it titled, and registered, was in his best interest. But he insisted on taking the opportunity to try and rework the entire divorce agreement, including child support before he would do so. I didn't agree.

Now I'm facing two options, one, trade in the car, and hope I get approved, the car has a hefty upside down amount, and doing this will transfer that amount directly to me, so I don't have to pay him anymore, or let him reclaim the vehicle, and I suppose take me to civil court to work out the loss on the vehicle. My question is... if he reclaims, and uses the car as a trade in, or even sells it, I'm afraid he'd take a minimum trade in amount, or sell the car for less than its worth making the loss on the vehicle higher and forcing me to pay. How can I protect myself from this? He says I have til the end of Saturday at 6pm to deliver the car, or present him with notice that the note was paid in full.

Please start your own thread.

Thanks!

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

I assume this will be transferred to a separate thread. The court cannot enforce an order for him to violate the lienholders rights. This will likely include licensing and insuring the vehicle for a non relatives use.