Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
Bitter Divorce
My friend is going through a divorce. They have been physically separated for about 4-5 months, but they still have joint property. He has truck that has both there names on the title and finance loan, and he is having difficulty refinancing due to credit issues. Recently, his wife stole the truck from him while he was at work and is hiding it from him. Legally, what are his rights, what can he do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Bitter Divorce
Legally, each owner has a right to possession of the truck. If there is other property subject to division in the divorce, now is the time to try and negotiate an agreement with the wife to trade whatever equity is in the truck for something of equal value. It would be to her advantage if he is able to pay off the loan on the truck so that her credit isn't in jeopardy or tied up. She should realize that if he stops paying the note, her credit will be adversely affected. I am wondering if the reason she did this is precisely that--i.e., he wasn't paying the note and she took it and is planning to take over the payments to save her credit while controlling the asset.