Spouse leaves with jointly financed & owned vehicle?

[www.owningdogs.com]

My friend and her husband purchased a truck - he just left and is shacking up with a new girlfriend out of state - he is actively using illegal drugs and is an alcoholic - his new girlfriend has been seen driving the truck.

My friend cannot afford the truck but is afraid that they will hit someone and she will be liable for damages since the insurance is also in her name. Can she contact the financing company and tell them what is going on and cancel the insurance while she is trying to get together with a lawyer?
They are residents of Florida - he is now in Georgia.
She is not worried about the payment - his dad pays for the truck ; but since he left her with a rent she can't afford and a kid without any support - she can't afford the insurance.

[Kitty]

She can try and take her name off of the vehicle registration, and she can probably cancel the insurance policy. However, she will still be responsible for making payments, and any late or non-payments will show up on her credit report. If I were her, I would be calling the financing company, the DMV and the insurance company, as well as my lawyer, a.s.a.p.

[Kathy R]

She should really talk to her attorney about that.

[hexeliebe]

It's marital property. Until it is awarded to one or the other in a divorce action and title transferrs on refinance, she is SOL.

BY THE WAY: IF you follow the advice here and cancel the insurance and he DOES get in an accident, guess who will be sued?

You got it, you as an owner will be sued and you will have a judgement for a minimum of 20 years with a judgement interest rate for unpaid balances of 10% per year.

NOT good advice.

[mmurray001]

Listen your husband and you bought a truk and he left you have the insurance in your name yes i would cancel the insurance because i wouldnt want to be the one responsible in case they have and accident.

best of luck

[musclegurl4u]

No, she needs to get him to refinance the vehicle in his own name, once he does that, then the title to the vehicle can be changed and she can drop the insurance and he will be responsible for the insurance.

If she drops the insurance now, then she has a vehicle registered to her and she has no insurance on it and that is so much worse. If he will not re-finance the vehicle then it is in her best interest to make sure that the insurance has high limits because if he hurts someone while driving and he is using drugs or alcohol then the person that sues can get an excess judgment over and above the insurance limits (punitive damages) because of his gross negligence.

[sunbun]

just let him have the truck if she is unable to keep up the payments and make sure the divorce decree reads that way

[cybersharque]

The truck may be jointly owned, but the title is in the name of one or the other....and it sounds like the title and the insurance are in her name.....so she needs to report the truck as stolen to the police and the insurance company. She should do this immediately, because once he hits someone, the law assumes he was driving with her permission, she is responsible for the damages, but since she knows the truck is being driven by a person on a drug binge, the odds are that the insurance company will disclaim.

It's sad beyond reckoning that ignoramuses like hexeliebe think it's cool to pretend to be a lawyer and hand our BAD ADVICE thinking that nothing will come of it. If nothing else, bad karma will be the result.