Legal car help?

[pickles82]

Okay so first of all, I didn't know where else to post this. Me and my boyfriend have a predicament. When my boyfriend was 16 or 17, he was put into a driving course and got his license senior year. His mother bought him a really cheap truck and did some repairs, which comes out to no more than 1700$(for both buying the car and the repairs). Since hes had it, which is October of last year, hes been paying his mother 300$ a month for it plus all the gas with his own money. The truck is still under his moms name but he pays FOR EVERYTHING on it, including all repairs. His mom is a control freak and still treats him like a child. He's almost 19 and if she says he can't go anywhere in the truck, he cant defy and take it because that's "stealing", and when she doesnt want him to take it anyways, she has her boyfriend RIP PARTS OUT OF THE TRUCK, so he cant even start it. So my question is, with the car ONLY being in her name and that's it, she pays for absolutely nothing at all, is he allowed to take it anyways? He pays for all the insurance, repairs and gas. What are his rights? She said she "gave it to him", but takes control ONLY because it's under her name. Is he allowed to take ownership or does he still have to listen to her because it's only under her name? She also refuses to sign the ownership over to him because that's how she controls him.

[Fantasia]

I would definitely say that your boyfriend deserves ownership of the car, not his mother, what the hell?!
She can't just do that! o_O

[Kuri]

In my country there is a little known way of signing a car over to someone without the prior owner having to be present or sign anything.  Makes it easy on the family if it was an old elderly persons car who died of old age ect...

But if you can't just get ownership swapped without her being there, just force her to. He's not a child.  Just tell her that he's not a child.   i never understood control freaks...

[pickles82]

In my country there is a little known way of signing a car over to someone without the prior owner having to be present or sign anything.  Makes it easy on the family if it was an old elderly persons car who died of old age ect...

But if you can't just get ownership swapped without her being there, just force her to. He's not a child.  Just tell her that he's not a child.   i never understood control freaks...

The thing is that she wont listen.  My boyfriend is pretty much being forced to pay for it. He doesnt have enough to move out or get his own car. He has a job and his mom says he can live there as long as he has a job. He needs that truck to get anywhere and needs the job to pay for the truck. I live in washington state. Does he have any rights to the car or can he forcefully take the car?

[.Fallen-Kingdom.]

Ehh.. this situation is definitely a common one for sure.
It seems there is a bit of a complicated relationship between mother and son here. Forgive me if I'm mistaken. It's common for mothers to control their children in this way, but my only suggestion would be to either to do actual legal research online or just have him save up for a new vehicle that he can put under his name.

[LaughingWolf]

Deserving to have it, and legally being able to obtain from an unwilling owner is a different thing. It's a contract she signed.

I would say stop paying her, stop driving the truck when you get the chance & look for a vehicle you can purchase yourself.

He's paying for the use, or is he supposed to be paying her back for a purchase? Because if he calculates out how much he's paid her over the last 3 years, i'd bet that it's more than what he owed her, and now he's just paying for the use.

What I would do:
- Inform her you're not going to continue paying on a loan that has been paid, or should have been.
- Stop paying for the use.
- Stop paying for repairs.
- Tell her you're going to look for another car.
- Look for another car if she decides she's still not going to turn it over to you.

.. she's playing hardball with him, he can play back. JMO.

[BirdyBlu]

Okay so first of all, I didn't know where else to post this. Me and my boyfriend have a predicament. When my boyfriend was 16 or 17, he was put into a driving course and got his license senior year. His mother bought him a really cheap truck and did some repairs, which comes out to no more than 1700$(for both buying the car and the repairs). Since hes had it, which is October of last year, hes been paying his mother 300$ a month for it plus all the gas with his own money. The truck is still under his moms name but he pays FOR EVERYTHING on it, including all repairs. His mom is a control freak and still treats him like a child. He's almost 19 and if she says he can't go anywhere in the truck, he cant defy and take it because that's "stealing", and when she doesnt want him to take it anyways, she has her boyfriend RIP PARTS OUT OF THE TRUCK, so he cant even start it. So my question is, with the car ONLY being in her name and that's it, she pays for absolutely nothing at all, is he allowed to take it anyways? He pays for all the insurance, repairs and gas. What are his rights? She said she "gave it to him", but takes control ONLY because it's under her name. Is he allowed to take ownership or does he still have to listen to her because it's only under her name? She also refuses to sign the ownership over to him because that's how she controls him.

Not much can be done if it is in her name. I would agree with some of the comments below. only use that truck for necessities, and save up for a cheap car. Then she can have her truck back, and can either sell it or all the bills will be left to her since it is in her name. Until his name is on the title of whatever he drive's it is her right to tell him where he can and can't go. I am 22 and used my dad's car when my own broke down, he would do the same thing, aside from ripping parts out. XD That is abit much.

[Kuri]

If she's still making him pay $300 a month for something he paid in full in only 6 months then she's using him as a cash cow. 
The only things i know how to do IRL is either leave that person entirely (and normally i glue their locks shut or something as i leave) or tazer them.  Those probably won't work for you.
But yeah, she's possibly using him for the money.

[Jango_Fett]

unless you can prove she hasn't been paying for the bills, you'd maybe have an argument there

in court.

this is something that can only be disputed in civil[?] court, and since she seems like the kinda psycho to not want to let go...
... have fun in the legal system.

maybe the insurance company can do something about it, or the bank.

[pickles82]

unless you can prove she hasn't been paying for the bills, you'd maybe have an argument there

in court.

this is something that can only be disputed in civil[?] court, and since she seems like the kinda psycho to not want to let go...
... have fun in the legal system.

maybe the insurance company can do something about it, or the bank.

Oh boy, you might be right there. Thanks everyone for your input!