If I co-signed a loan for my son and the title and plates are in both of our names, can I be sued if either he or his girlfriend get into an accident?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I co-signed a loan for my son and the title and plates are in both of our names, can I be sued if either he or his girlfriend get into an accident?
Asked on August 2, 2018 under Accident Law, Michigan
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Any owner of a car can be held liable if they gave their consent for another to drive the car and that person then let someone else drive. Since the title is in your name, you are an owner. Accordingly, you can be held legally responsible for an accident.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If the title is in your name, you are an owner of the car. A car's owner can be held liable if someone permitted to drive the car, including a co-owner (so, your son; and his girfriend, assuming he lets her drive) is "at fault" (e.g. driving negligently or carelessly) in an accident. So being on the title and plates, and therefore being an owner of the vehicle, puts you at risk.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.