Legal Question in Family Law in California

When my ex & I divorced, we were involved in two car loans - his vehicle and mine. Our agreement would be that even though the loans were in both of our names, he would be responsible for his vehicle's loan and I would be responsible for mine - I believe our divorce settlement paperwork reads that way as well. We did not re-fi each loan at the time b/c neither of us were in the financial position to do so on our own and the vehicles were worth less than what was owed. Financially, it seemed like a bad idea to re-fi. I have since then traded in that vehicle but he still has his truck. Only today have I heard from the credit union that his vehicle's loan is through that he is avoiding their calls, the payment is 74 days past due, and they are getting ready to repo it. The credit union is small and is aware of our payment agreement. Unfortunately, they reported his lack of payment to the credit bureau under me even though they never contacted me beforehand. Whenever I was late with my car payments in the early years following our divorce, they only dinged me credit-wise, not him. Anyway, if it is actually written out in the divorce settlement we are each responsible for the individual car loans, is this enough to override the huge impact a repo could have on my credit? I've screwed it up enough on my own and am trying to repair past mistakes.


Asked on 11/10/09, 6:56 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Tina Chen Law Office of Tina Chen

Unfortunately, since your name is still on the loan, the credit union is within their rights to report this under your name to the credit bureau. Because your name is still on the loan, the credit union can still come after you for payment and then you have to take your ex back to court for reimbursement. The only way to prevent having the repo on your record is to bring the loan current and sue your ex for reimbursement for the payment.

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Answered on 11/16/09, 4:20 pm


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