Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Re: Take over auto payments

Who was the car awarded to at the time of the divorce? Usually such property is awarded to one spouse or the other subject to payment of any liens. There might be a refinancing requirement and a clause whereby one party agrees to indemnify the other against any adverse action. That is about all you can do to protect yourself. Any decision you make should depend on what your wife does for a living and her current employment status, her reliability and the relationship between the two of you post-divorce. If you don't trust her to make the payments in a timely manner, you may want to take the car back and turn it back to the dealer or let it be repo'd. You should also check your contract to see if you can legitimately move the car out of state on a "permanent" basis. If you allow your wife to take the car out of state on a "permanent" basis, thereby depriving the lender of the ability to repossess the vehicle, you could possibly face suit for the full amount owed since the lender cannot sell the vehicle at auction to recoup some of its losses.