Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Can a parent repossess a car from an adult child that is in the parents name however the child makes the payments directly to the bank?

I am a 30 year old adult and due to recent credit issues, 7 months ago my father helped me purchase a new car by putting it under his name. I have made all of the payments on time, directly to the back, however last night he drove from Illinois to my mother�s home in California, where I have been visiting for the past 2 months and repossessed the car in the middle of the night without warning leaving me stranded in California. He also took all of the personal items I had in the car. At first we thought the car was stolen and only learned that he had taken it when we let him know it was stolen. He only responded that it was not stolen and he is the registered owner so he took it. Do I have any rights to this car to legally get it back?


Asked on 1/30/12, 9:02 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

The big problem that I see is that you do not mention any sort of contract with your father. Your agreement with him was most likely oral. You could sue, but you will run into proof problems if he denies any contractual agreement with you, or alters the terms. For example, he could argue that he loaned the car to you, etc.

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Answered on 1/31/12, 8:32 am


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