Expert: Timmy Chou - 1/28/2002

Question
My father and I jointly own a car titled in Texas. He lives in Florida and the title has my Texas address. I have the car and pay insurance, he makes the payments to a private leinholder. I want to move to a different city, but he wants to take the car if I do. Can he do that? If he does, do I have any legal recourse to get it back?

Answer
Thank you for your question!

Mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.

Therefore, I can only respond to your question from my business consulting experience.  Note that this is ultimatly a legal question and you may wish to consult an attorney.

It seems to me that if his name is on the title then he is the legal owner.  If both your names are on the title then you each have half ownership no matter who pays the loan.  your legal rights are tied to the title documents.  If you are on the title then you have just as much right to decide questions about the car as your father.  If you move, he cannot have the car repossessed for example.  He can, however, quit paying for it and compel you to pick up the bill if you want to prevent the lienholder from coming after the car.  If you are not on the title then you have very limited options short of coming to some agreement to buy his part of the ownership from him and getting the car re-titled.

These are some ideas.  Feel free to follow up with additional questions.

For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution
methods follows.

GOOD LUCK!

Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation

Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons
for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system

Benefits of Arbitration:

    Confidential, no public record
    Limited exchange of documentation, information
    Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
    Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in
conflict resolution
    Cheaper than litigation
    Preserves business relationships

Negatives of Arbitration

    It's a compromise, no %100 winner
    Complex arbitration can be costly
    If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
    Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
    Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process

Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral
third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a
settlement of their dispute.

Benefits of Mediation:

    Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered
before
    Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
    Can be quicker than litigation
    Less costly than litigation
    Preserves business relationships
    85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find
successful solutions

Negatives of Mediation

    may not reach a binding decision
    unskilled mediator

Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes

Benefits of litigation:

    a clear winner and loser
    uses a prescribed set of procedures
    more predictable outcomes
    is final

Negatives of Litigation:

    waiting for court dates can do more harm
    usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
    part of the public record