Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: paying off ''gift''

Be cautious about returning the car to the lender or the seller. Quite often they sound very agreeable about taking the car back and then sell at an autcion for far less than the value if sold to a private party or selling it to a used car dealer. After selling the car at the auction they then proceed to get a deficiency judgment against the borrowers. The amount of this judgment including all of their costs etc often is the same amount you would have paid off the loan. Selling the car to a third party, even if you must pay some additional payments may be the cheapest way out for you. Discussing this matter with an attorney after you have determined the value of the car and the amount due on the loan would be an excellent next step.

Re: paying off ''gift''

This isn't family law but here goes. Before you can deside what to do you need to find out if the new car is worth as much as you owe. If the gift is now a liability you may want to cut your losses and surrender the car (a voluntary repo). This is bad for your credit and his so you may want to contact him to give him the option of taking the car and releasing you. If the car has some value you may sell it and buy another car with lower payments. I presume he will sign off without getting any of the proceeds. The "gift" is not enforceable beyond any money he actually paid because it wasn't in writing but his obligation to the lender is inforcable so you could stop paying and wait for the car to be repo'd involuntarily and incourage the lender to go after him for any deficiency. Just be prepared to take the bus when the car is gone.