i cosign for a vechile

May 15, 2010

Judgment against person who co-signed for car loan
by: Mary

Thanks for submitting your debt collection question on our Q&A page.

Co-signing for any kind of loan is always dangerous because you risk exactly what has happened to you. If you have been sued, I suggest that you contact a local consumer law attorney with experience in debt collection cases. Find out how to get FREE or low cost legal advice about debt collection from a consumer law attorney here.

It's important that you respond to the lawsuit and that you show up in court on the day of the hearing related to it. If you don't the car lender will automatically get a judgment against you; but if you show up with your attorney, although it's likely that the judge will still give the lender a judgment against you given that you are legally obligated for the loan you co-signed for, there may be issues related to the loan that might cause the judge to award the lender a smaller judgment than he would otherwise.

As for what the lender can take from you if it gets a judgment against you, the lender cannot take your Social Security payments. Also, according to my sources, $50,000 of the value of your homestead (your home) is exempt as well. This means that if your home is worth $50,000 or less, then it is unaffected by the judgment, but if it's worth more than $50,000, the amount of the additional value would not be exempt and the debt collector could go after it. Also, if you own other assets that are not exempt in Delaware, the lender could go after them.

What about the person you co-signed the loan for? Is he or she not willing to help pay what is due on the loan and get you out of your legal predicament? At the very least, this person should pay all of your legal expenses.

Again, my best advice is to get legal help right away. Please share what happens with your situation in the comments section for this question. We are very interested in hearing how this turns out for you, and your experience can help others who in situations similar to yours.

i cosign for a vechile

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