What do I do if my ex is going bankrupt and he has a car I cosigned for?

[ear]

While my ex and I were married he bought a car. His credit was bad so I cosigned for him. Since then we got a divorce and he kept the car and was completely responsible for the payments as of the divorce decree. He has not made a payment in forever and now trying to file for bankruptcy. What are my options since I can't afford the car and he won't give it up? I live in Washington dc if the state matters as far as law. Please help! What are my options? I don't want to ruin my credit because of his bankruptcy. Even if he would give the car back to the dealer, the money owed is more than the car is worth.

[golding]

call the bank that its financed to, explain the situation, tell them where the car is and you should be off the hook....good luck

[gerard]

When you co-sign for a loan, it's for the life of the loan, regardless of life changes. Unless you take over the payments for the car, even though you are not legally a co-owner, the car will be repossessed and BOTH credit reports will be negatively impacted.

The car will then be sold at auction and the money used to pay off the loan. If the amount is not enough, which you already said is the case, then the bank will come after both you and him for the balance.

I don't know why the car hasn't been repossessed already if he hasn't made payments in "forever."

[denys]

I hope you had your name removed from the loan agreement as a cosigner when your divorce was finalized. You'll need to check with your divorce lawyer, because I'm not sure a divorce degree in itself absolves you from responsibility. If it only states he is responsible to make the payments, you could still be on the hook. This question should never have come up.

[adusa37]

The lender can still come after you. However, if he includes the car in the bankruptcy, they may not.

But its has & will continue to hurt your credit.