Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

To accomplish a transfer of title (taking her off title and putting it solely in your name) will first require her signing over title to you. If she refuses, and you have the grounds to do so (the facts set forth in your post are not sufficient to make this determination), you may be able to get a judge to declare that you are solely entitled to ownership of the car, and effectively transfer title without her signature. That sort of litigation, however, is going to be very costly. You have a second possible problem in that if there is a loan on the vehicle, the lender will be required to approve the transfer of title, which often requires repayment of the loan in advance of the transfer. Depending upon the value of the vehicle, the cost of litigation may be more than the value of the car. Do you have a written agreement with her as to ownership and rights to the car? Without such an agreement, convincing a judge that you and you alone are entitled to the car is going to be pretty difficult. My best advice - approach her about selling the car to sever all ties you two have. That, or buy her out of her position in the car.

*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.

I agree with Mr. Gibbs, and want to add a couple of comments. If both of you are shown as co-owners on the title and registration, then possession and use of the car by either is perfectly lawful, so you can't take it away by using the police or anything that might create a disturbance of the peace. If she parks it on the street, maybe you could change current possession lawfully. I prefer the approach of negotiating a buyout, sellout or sale and split of the net proceeds. Finally, if the loan isn't paid by someone, the lender will solve the problem by repossessing the car.