I am 20. When I was 19 I consigned on a car with my mom. Now she is disabled and cannot work so she is sometimes late on her payment and it'...

Question

I am 20. When I was 19 I consigned on a car with my mom. Now she is disabled and cannot work so she is sometimes late on her payment and it's making my credit look really bad and I haven't even had a chance to establish my own. Is there anything that I can do to get out of this contract with my mom and the car finance company?

Answer

Normally, the only way to remove your name is if the car finance company or another company agrees to refinance the loan into your mother's name. The car finance company won't want to do this because they are better protected by having a second responsible person. If your mother can get another loan in her name only to pay off the car loan that you cosigned, then you no longer have to worry. This might also be difficult since her credit is also messed up and she doesn't work. One possibility might be for your mother to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and do a redemption on the car. She can possibly refinance it for its value. There are a couple of companies that do this for people in bankruptcy. She would need to speak with a bankruptcy attorney to know if that's an option available for her.