Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Hello, I am the purchaser on a leased vehicle my wife drives. We are headed for divorce leaving me with what it seems like, no options. We are trying to be very civil during this process with each other but I drive a company leased vehicle and I don't need another car. She relies on this car as her only form of transportation. We are trying to do the divorce on our own but this is the hardest part. Is there anyway other way than her taking over the lease for this car to be out of my responsibility? She would not be able to afford the lease with her current work status. I understand that the insurance needs to be held by the lease holder living under the same roof. If we are divorced than this is clearly not an option. Is there any other way around this situation other than me taking the car and being stuck with it throughout the lease terms without ruining my credit? Thank you, Andy
1 Answer from Attorneys
There is information missing for me to make an informed decision. However, I assume she would be receiving a sum from you and can use it to pay the monthly lease (but, of course, check with the leasing company AND write a stipulation-I did one just this afternoon using a previous divorce client's stip as the model). Contact the leaseholder-essentially tell them a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If the leaseholder agrees, she gets the car under her name and can get her own insurance (I saved a lot through Geico-sounds like a commercial, but their homeowner's insurance, since they didn't do it themselves, was astronomical but the auto ins price was great. Every driver differs, of course). Ask them to extend the terms of the loan, and, hopefully, the int rate, so her monthy pmt is less. Cars last a LOONGG time (I have a 1986 Camry with 256K commuting to NY city miles on it with 5 accidents (always the other guy's fault, not husband's-really, and one was a tree that fell on the car while it was outside the auto shop after a jitney hit it in Chinatown). So, she pays the car off over a longer time and keeps the car a long time. Some people go for a new car every 5 years-that is not an option here.