Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Legally, no. If both of your names are on title, you each have the legal right to the use and enjoyment of the car. Without an agreement to the contrary, you cannot hold the car from him until he repays you. You can take him to small claims court to recover the money if he does not voluntarily repay it. You may also be able to obtain a court order to stop him from using the car while he does not have a license (to protect the asset that you jointly own) but that cannot be done in small claims court, and must be done in Superior Court (at a much higher cost, and much longer delay in having your case heard).

*Due to the limitations of the LawGuru Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence. As required by 11 U.S.C. �528, we must now disclose that, "We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. Assistance we provide with respect to Debt Relief may involve bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."