Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

is it better to have both the husband and wife names on a car title


Asked on 3/11/14, 5:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Richard Teitell Richard K. Teitell, Esquire, P.C.

For purposes of asset protection it is. In PA, & in some other states, the current law is that a money judgment against 1 spouse does not enable the person who obtained the judgment to sell joint assets. So for any asset that is owned by both spouses, like real estate, bank accounts and cars, if there is a judgment against only 1 spouse, that asset cannot be attached or sold to satisfy the judgment. However, note that if the spouse who does not have a judgment against him/her predeceases the other spouse, the remaining spouse becomes the owner of the asset & the asset then becomes subject to attachment & sale if there is still an open judgment. The bottom line, for most people it is good estate planning to title most property in joint names. It's too complicated to get into here, there are exceptions, usually having to do with high wealth individuals. I hope that answers your question.

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Answered on 3/12/14, 7:04 am


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