Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia
can you legally be listed on the loan for a vehicle but not on the title?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Sure - because it is not a random event. You made the choice.
Yes. It's really foolish to agree to that since you owe money but have no right to the car, but people make that mistake with some frequency. (It's always a bad idea to cosign loans).
Yes, of course. Responsibility for the loan debt has nothing to do with ownership of the vehicle. I don't know if you intended to be a co-borrower or were just a co-signer of the loan. As noted, co-signing is always a bad deal because it says to the lender that "if the primary borrower does not pay I will so make the loan." A co-signer is usually not on the title to the vehicle and has no ownership interest in the vehicle. Co-signing is a bad deal because it means that the primary borrower has no credit or more likely, bad credit. If the latter, this should be a red flag because it means that there is a string of bad debts before this and that in all probability the primary borrower will default on you leaving you to pick up the slack. And since the co-signers are not on the title, they have no ownership rights in the car. All they can do is pay.