Legal Question in Personal Injury in Texas
My girlfriend had a vehicle that was recently involved in an accident. There were two names on the vehicle title (her and her father). The insurance company said the vehicle had frame damage, and as such declared the vehicle a total loss. The claim payout was approximately $4,500.
Because two names are on the title, the insurance company wrote the claim check to both people. Likewise, the bank requires both people to be present when it is cashed. The difficulty in this situation is that the father was convicted of a felony and deported to Mexico; therefore, it is difficult (if not impossible) to get his signature on the check, and impossible for him to return to the country to cash the check.
My questions are:
1) Is there a way to get his name off the title of the vehicle while a claim is pending?
2) Is there a way for him to relinquish his rights to the vehicle in a way that would allow either my girlfriend to cash the check herself, or for someone to act as a proxy for him?
3) What, if any, other options are there to recover the claim money?
1 Answer from Attorneys
1. If the car is financed, then no. If it's paid off, he can sign off on the title documents. He can get an apostille in Mexico to notarize the docs.
2. If the check is already issued, then you can take him off the title (have him sign off on it). He could also execute a Texas power of attorney (again, with apostille from Mexico).
3. I think the power of attorney is the best bet. Have a US attorney daft it, add the apostille, have him execute it in Mexico and send back. Then the other party can execute all the necessary paperwork.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
