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BM Trying to "Sue" BF -- Is this Legit?

helena_brass's picture

Submitted by helena_brass on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 12:26pm

Now I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like BM's claim has little standing. I could be wrong though. Do any of you have an idea?

BF was served this weekend. BM is taking BF to court because she wants a modification regarding "other" assets. This is about BF's motorcycle. Like all the vehicles purchased during their marriage, the loan was in BM's name and BF was the one making the payments. BF has stopped making payments on his bike since he had to pay the IRS because BM claimed both of the kids and filed her taxes before BF (their agreement was for each to claim one child, but she obviously forgot). BF has never missed payments for things before, but this was last year when he was on unemployment and he just didn't have the money for CS, the IRS, and extras.

Anyway, in the "Facts" section of the served papers (which looks like it was written by a child--her lawyer should be ashamed to have his name associated with this) BM claims that BF brought her papers that she believed were to help HIM get a loan in his name. She signed them and (to her surprise) the loan was in her name. She wants the loan put in his name only. BF and BM have both talked to the loan agents and they refuse to put the loan solely in his name. I don't know what she expects that BF can do if they can't do anything about this. Not only that, but she SIGNED the loan agreement (regardless of what she claims she thought it was). If she failed to read and understand it, that's her problem. I dunno, this all sounds like it won't hold water.

Any ideas?

Comments

jojo68's picture

Submitted by jojo68 on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 12:39pm

Signatures on loan documents superceed court documents. Good luck...hope it all works out for the best.

liks's picture

Submitted by liks on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 1:00pm

OK.....banker here....

Your husband should get another loan to pay out the loan thats in the mad exes name...

you cannot change the names on the documents that is correct...you need to close it down by paying the orignal loan out.

now second issue...

Did she sign the contract under duress??? a judge wont have a bar of that idea....

pretty much she will be recorded if she doesnt pay the loan but if the loan is specific....in other words it has the asset recorded against the borrowins...(this is not like a mortgage...or a lease) some personal loans require documentation on what actually the lender is borrowing for (so that they aint borrowing for gambling or drug purposes govt regulation) now if the lender actually has recorded in the contract that there is a bike and its rego is **** then you need to prove that the bike was not given as a present.

but considering the marriage has now broken up financial settlement should have been completed...if it has not been settled then you may as well give the bike back....

helena_brass's picture

Submitted by helena_brass on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 1:11pm

When he spoke to his bank they did not seem willing to give him such a large loan (there's still about a $9,000 balance). I don't believe that she signed the contract under duress. She isn't claiming that.

She cannot pay the loan; BF was the only contributor to car/vehicle payments. Furthermore, the bike itself was BF's in the divorce agreement, though it does not mention the loan. BM doesn't want the bike; she wants her name off the loan. BF did tell me he wanted to drop the bike off at her house. I'm not sure if that would make a difference. Would it?

DaizyDuke's picture

Submitted by DaizyDuke on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 2:31pm

I went through something similiar. When ExH and I seperated he had a credit card that was in my name that only he used. He had run up about 10,000.00 of debt on it and when I kicked his cheating ass out, he promptly stopped paying it which of course made no difference to him, but it started dinging my credit. I can not tell you how many times I cried over this. I got it written into our seperation agreement that he had to pay it off, but it took him about a year and a half and then when he did pay it he settled and I ended up with a charge off on my credit (and my credit was spotless prior to this) My credit was that good that even with the charge off now, I still have a 750 credit score. But that's not the point, the point is that my credit got whacked through no fault of my own. I am rarely in defense of a BM, but here I am... your BF need to take responsibility for this loan. Why can't he sell the bike, pay it off and be done with it?

Yes, on paper this is BM's loan and in the banks eyes BM's solely responsible for payments, but in the real world, the bike is not hers and your BF needs to do the right thing here. Can he get a line of credit? A loan with a different bank? Re-finance his house? I know they all suck, but again, it's his bike and his responsibility.

itsgottostop's picture

Submitted by itsgottostop on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 1:09pm

Does it state in the divorce decree that he is to keep the bike and assume all responsibilit for the payments? When my ex and I divorced, my car, his car, and the 4wheeler were all in my name. It stated in the divorce decree that I was to assume responsibility for my car and he was to do the same for his and the 4wheeler as well. Well, about a year after our divorce I get a call from the bank stating that my ex had not paid his car payment in 6 months and they were about to reposes all three vehicles...even my car that I had been paying the paymentts on every month. Plus, all of this would go on MY credit. I was told I needed to getmy name off of everything or I would just have to let everything get repoed then turn around and sue him. I was able to get everything resolved so my car didn't get taken and so nothing went on my credit but if I had not then you better bet I would have sued him for every bit of what it cost me. So yes, she can sue him if he was awarded the bike in the divorce decree and defaulted on the loan.

overit2's picture

Submitted by overit2 on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 1:25pm

Don't know how that works..BUT, I understand he's hurting financially and all but that is HIS bike ruining HER credit-I would be pissed if I were her also.

IMO-his responsibility should be to get on the ball immediately and sell the bike and pay off as much as he can of the loan.

WHy drop it off at her place for her to deal with? That seems pretty shady and irresponsible of him honestly.

helena_brass's picture

Submitted by helena_brass on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 1:52pm

I know this is hurting her credit, and that bothers me. Honestly, there's some vindictiveness on BF's part because she killed his credit with the whole IRS situation. I don't like that, and I've told BF that. He seems to think that she always gets away with sitting on her behind doing nothing while he has to pay, and now she's just getting what's coming to her. Trust me, I know that doesn't make any of this justified.

I think BF wanted to drop the bike off at her place because he thought then she could take it and sell it to pay off the loan. He's ready to give up the bike because he's tired of dealing with her on this matter (they've been going back and forth on this for a while now). He says he doesn't even want to look at the bike after all this, much less ride it, so the point of even having it is gone. I thought the drop-off sounded weird too, so I told him not to do it. Now that I think about the reasons though, maybe it's not a bad idea? Or maybe he should sell it? But can he even sell it if the loan is in her name? Ugh, I am so lost.

I don't know what to advise him to do. I feel like BM has a legitimate reason to be upset, and that doesn't sit well with me. I also think, though, that she should have put all of this in the divorce decree to begin with (maybe that's her lawyer's fault? they were very explicit about what was BM's, but very minimal about what was BF's). I think BF isn't sure what to do, but he wants to do SOMETHING because this whole thing is making him very angry/stressed. Right now the court date is May 5th. Hopefully we can work this out before then.

itsgottostop's picture

Submitted by itsgottostop on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 2:12pm

If he can't pay for the bike he doesn't need the bike anyways. His best option would be to sell the bike and pay off the loan. Yes, they will let him pay it off even though he is not on the loan. He does have to pay the full amount of the loan off though. The bank doesn't care if he sells it as long as they get their money...atleast that is what I was told by the bank we use. Or, give the bike to BM so that she can sell it. I wish my ex would have offered to do that for me since he had no intentions of paying it off. I would have gladly taken the 4wheeler and either kept it and made the payments or I would have sold it and paid off the loan.

helena_brass's picture

Submitted by helena_brass on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 11:36am

If you read one of my reply posts, you will see that yes, I am bothered by this. Also, we are not married, he is my boyfriend, not my husband.

I can understand why she's upset about this and I know that this issue has actually put many people on the defensive for BM. Trust me, it makes me feel the same way. I didn't know about this until the papers were served to him on last Friday. I know that she's been on him about the bike, but I wasn't clear on all the details. Right now I'm advising him to give her the bike to sell it, but to be honest I'm not sure that anything can be done about her credit. I think they've both hurt each other's credit in the divorce (she also failed to pay a hospital bill of $3000 and it ended up on his credit report). I'm not trying to justify BF's actions; it seems to be a pattern between the two of them though. If they both just communicated a little more I think all of this could have been avoided.

itsgottostop's picture

Submitted by itsgottostop on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 2:44pm

I agree echo! Bad credit can completely ruin your life! It can keep you from renting or buying a home and in some cases it can keep you from even getting certain jobs! If you mess with someones credit then you totally deserve to get sued!

jojo68's picture

Submitted by jojo68 on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 4:40pm

Unless the loan is paid off and refinanced in BF name...BM assumes all the responsibility of the loan...no matter what the divorce decree says what the loan aggreement states it is the way it rolls. If BF can't pay or get refinanced, he needs to return bike to BM because in all legality it belongs to her. It is unfortunate that he has made all the payments.

jojo68's picture

Submitted by jojo68 on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 4:41pm

Unless the loan is paid off and refinanced in BF name...BM assumes all the responsibility of the loan...no matter what the divorce decree says what the loan aggreement states it is the way it rolls. If BF can't pay or get refinanced, he needs to return bike to BM because in all legality it belongs to her. It is unfortunate that he has made all the payments.

itsgottostop's picture

Submitted by itsgottostop on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 5:30pm

Jojo68 is correct. BM is responsible legally as far as the bank is concerned but if this doesn't get resolved then BM has the right to sue and most likely will be awarded reimbursement in court if she has to pay off the loan. Plus she will probably be awarded legal fees for having to take him to court. Atleast that is what I was told by my divorce attorney and the bank when my ex did this to me.