Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

This is atually a criminal matter more than a property issue, it is really not a real property issue, that is reseved for land issues. If the car was taken without your permission, then I first suggest you contact your local police department and report the car stolen by her. They will contact her and take over from there. Unfortunately, only the District Attorney can file the criminal charges in this situation, (regular Joes are not allowed to file criminal complaints). Accordingly, the police will collect facts & evidence and provide their findings & recommendation about filing criminal charges to the DA for filing.

You do need to report the car as stolen because if she parks illegally or you get towed or ticketed without filing a stolen vehicle report, then you will be responsible for any tickets or charges that the vehicle receives until you do file the report.

I can be reached for further discussion at MasterCriminalDefense.com

Scott

This could be anywhere from grand theft auto to a completely innocent borrowing with several intermediate possibilities, depending upon facts you haven't given us. The other possibilities include "joyriding" which is more a trespass than a theft, or perhaps this is a proper exercise of rights by a secured creditor (a repossession) or a taking by a co-owner. We would need more facts to narrow down the possibilities. I agree with Mr. Linden that if this is, or appears to be, a theft, it should be reported to the police, but only after you think about and eliminate innocent possibilities such as her being a co-owner or secured lender or something like that. What does it say on the title or registration?