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  1. #1

    Default Use of a Jointly Owned Car During Separation

    My question involves a marriage in the state of:Maryland
    I have been separated from my husband for about a month. He is an alcoholic who dramatically increased his drinking in the past few months and became very violent and irresponsible. We have been living apart since he assaulted me one day and I decided I had enough of his abuse and pressed charges against him. We have two cars. One is an older car that I usually drive. I purchased it before we were married and it is registered in my name only. The other car is car that was purchased in February. It was purchased with the intent of it being primarily his car. He has poor credit so it had to be financed with me as the buyer and him as a cosigner. It is registered in both our names. It is insured in my name only. He has several DUI's in the past and putting him on the insurance would have cost a fortune. Yes. I know insuring it in my name only was a dumb decision. The day he assaulted me we had gotten into an argument about him driving while intoxicated. I took both sets of keys to the car. He took both sets of keys after he beat me and left in the car before the police arrived. The police informed me that there was nothing I could do at this point to get the car from him or get my set of keys back because the car is considered marital property. They told me that since I had the other car that is registered in my name only he is allowed to take that car for his use. He has been staying with different people in the past month and I have been left with all the bills. I received notification from Geico that the insurance on that car will be cancelled on Sunday for non payment. I am extremely broke and have no way to pay this insurance. I have informed my husband several times that the insurance is going to be cancelled and he says he doesn't care and he is going to continue to drive it without insurance. I don't want him driving this car at all because he drives intoxicated everyday. But I definitely cannot allow him to drive a vehicle registered in my name without insurance. I don't have keys to the car anymore so I can't just go take it. I was told that I am facing huge fines and possibly losing the ability to have my other car registered if I allow the insurance to lapse. I was given the advice that I should take the plates of the car and turn them into the MVA before the insurance is cancelled to avoid these penalties. I don't know where he is staying so I would have to go to his job and take the plates of his car there. I want to do everything legally so I need to know if I am allowed to turn in the plates without his consent since he is also on the registration. Is this the best course of action or can anyone think of anything else I can do? Paying the insurance by the due date would be impossible. I have already sold everything I have of value and borrowed money from friends and family to pay my other bills. The only other solution I could think of would be to attempt to sell my car quickly and use the proceeds to pay the insurance. I need a car to get me to work so if I sell mine I would need to get possession of the car he has and I don't know how to do that without going to court. That would take too long and would not help me out with the issue of the insurance being cancelled. He has DUI charges pending and is going to court in March. I'm assuming he will get his license suspended at the time and possibly jail time since he has had several DUI's. I could take the car then but that doesn't help me with my current situation. I apologize that this post is long and rambling. Basically I want to know if I should take that plates and turn them in if I can't pay the insurance or if there is a way I can get the car from him legally now without going to court if I sell my car.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    16,474

    Default Re: Jointly Owned Car During Seperation

    Quote Quoting newlyseperated
    View Post
    My question involves a marriage in the state of:Maryland
    I have been separated from my husband for about a month. He is an alcoholic who dramatically increased his drinking in the past few months and became very violent and irresponsible. We have been living apart since he assaulted me one day and I decided I had enough of his abuse and pressed charges against him. We have two cars. One is an older car that I usually drive. I purchased it before we were married and it is registered in my name only. The other car is car that was purchased in February. It was purchased with the intent of it being primarily his car. He has poor credit so it had to be financed with me as the buyer and him as a cosigner. It is registered in both our names. It is insured in my name only. He has several DUI's in the past and putting him on the insurance would have cost a fortune. Yes. I know insuring it in my name only was a dumb decision. The day he assaulted me we had gotten into an argument about him driving while intoxicated. I took both sets of keys to the car. He took both sets of keys after he beat me and left in the car before the police arrived. The police informed me that there was nothing I could do at this point to get the car from him or get my set of keys back because the car is considered marital property. They told me that since I had the other car that is registered in my name only he is allowed to take that car for his use. He has been staying with different people in the past month and I have been left with all the bills. I received notification from Geico that the insurance on that car will be cancelled on Sunday for non payment. I am extremely broke and have no way to pay this insurance. I have informed my husband several times that the insurance is going to be cancelled and he says he doesn't care and he is going to continue to drive it without insurance. I don't want him driving this car at all because he drives intoxicated everyday. But I definitely cannot allow him to drive a vehicle registered in my name without insurance. I don't have keys to the car anymore so I can't just go take it. I was told that I am facing huge fines and possibly losing the ability to have my other car registered if I allow the insurance to lapse. I was given the advice that I should take the plates of the car and turn them into the MVA before the insurance is cancelled to avoid these penalties. I don't know where he is staying so I would have to go to his job and take the plates of his car there. I want to do everything legally so I need to know if I am allowed to turn in the plates without his consent since he is also on the registration. Is this the best course of action or can anyone think of anything else I can do? Paying the insurance by the due date would be impossible. I have already sold everything I have of value and borrowed money from friends and family to pay my other bills. The only other solution I could think of would be to attempt to sell my car quickly and use the proceeds to pay the insurance. I need a car to get me to work so if I sell mine I would need to get possession of the car he has and I don't know how to do that without going to court. That would take too long and would not help me out with the issue of the insurance being cancelled. He has DUI charges pending and is going to court in March. I'm assuming he will get his license suspended at the time and possibly jail time since he has had several DUI's. I could take the car then but that doesn't help me with my current situation. I apologize that this post is long and rambling. Basically I want to know if I should take that plates and turn them in if I can't pay the insurance or if there is a way I can get the car from him legally now without going to court if I sell my car.
    You could have a set of keys made and take the car. That would not be illegal. The problem is that he could do the same and you could end up with no car at all. You are honestly between a rock and a hard place. If he loses his license in March or even goes to jail, your position would be stronger, but between then and now, I don't see how to make it better.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Jointly Owned Car During Seperation

    Sure, take the plates off the car. When it gets impounded and repossessed, you will be sued for the deficiency between the sale price and the loan and towing/storage fees. Insurance is cheaper.

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