BILL'S ANSWER
As co-signer, you are liable for the car payments if your ex-spouse stops making them. In other words, if your ex stops making the car payments, your ex is obligating you as co-signer to make them. If neither of you make the car payments, both of you will see damage to your credit scores, and both of you are liable for the deficiency balance if the car is repossessed. A deficiency balance is the balance remaining on the loan after the finance company auctions the repossessed vehicle.
If the car is repossessed, the repossession will appear on both of your credit reports for seven years. A repossession is seen as a significant event, and it will cause a great deal of damage to your credit score. More importantly, it is a warning flag creditors watch for when deciding whether to give a person a loan, especially if the repossession was recent. As a result, you should avoid a repossession if possible.
Talk to your co-signer now if you are still on speaking terms. Explain the situation and the consequences. Perhaps you can work out an arrangement where you both contribute to the payments for a short time while your ex gets himself back on his feet again. The alternative is that when your ex stops making the payments, the creditor will start hounding you for the payments. By working out an agreement now (which I realize may not be a pleasant conversation), you may prevent the situation from becoming a disaster for both of you.
If your ex-spouse is unwilling or unable to make the payments, an option to you is voluntary repossession. The only benefit to you is that voluntary repossession results in lower fees than the classic involuntary repossession where a repo-man snatches the vehicle in the dead of night. However, both co-signers are liable for the deficiency balance and there is no difference reported on credit reports.
See the Bills.com resource "All about voluntary repossession" for more information.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com/
Abilene, TX | November 07, 2011
November 08, 2011
If she has any legal questions they should be directed to a local lawyer.
Since you don't have facebook, please provide us with your location and a valid email address so we can answer it. Without a valid email address,we can't reply. (Go back to login with Facebook)
Due to the high volume of comments received, we cannot publish and/or respond to every comment received. If you have a specific question, we recommend you search our site for an answer before commenting.
* Bills.com will not share, sell, lend, or make public your e-mail address. We reserve the right to delete any questions or comments that violate the Bills.com terms of service.
We get a lot of comments! To help us show our boss that this is a valuable service, so we can keep providing it, we ask you to do 2 things before commmenting:
Log in
Like us
Submit your comment!
Due to the high volume of comments received, we cannot publish and/or respond to every comment received. If you have a specific question, we recommend you search our site for an answer before commenting.
* Bills.com will not share, sell, lend, or make public your e-mail address. We reserve the right to delete any questions or comments that violate the Bills.com terms of service.
Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be posted shortly.
Comments (2)