Typically, the only way to get your name off the loan is for your spouse to refinance it in his or her name alone. If your spouse can't qualify for an auto loan by him or herself, or if he or she refuses to refinance the auto loan, it's worth the time to speak with a lawyer about your options.
Pay off the loan
The most painless way to remove a co-signer is to simply pay off the car loan. If the removal is due to financial strain this may not be the most practical option, but paying off the loan in full will rid the responsibility of both the primary borrower and the co-signer.
Simply put, it is possible to remove the cosigner, but you'll need to refinance, sell the car and pay off the loan, or take advantage of cosigner release options that exist for your loan.
Generally, co-signing refers to financing, not ownership. If the primary accountholder fails to make payments on the loan or the retail installment sales contract (a type of auto financing dealers sell), the co-signer is responsible for those payments, or their credit will suffer.
You Can Release Your Cosigner
When you refinance, you pay off all of your old auto debt and start making payments on the new loan. Since the old loans are paid off, the cosigner of those loans will be released. The borrower who refinances then solely holds the obligation to repay the loan.
The names on the two documents do not necessarily have to match. If two people are on a car loan, the car still belongs to the person who is named on the title.
Cosigners can't take possession of the vehicle they cosign for, or remove the primary borrower from the loan, since their name isn't on the vehicle's title. Getting out of an auto loan as a cosigner isn't always easy. However, knowing what you signed on for as a cosigner is key and you're not out of options.
In a strict sense, the answer is no. The fact that you are a cosigner in and of itself does not necessarily hurt your credit.
All you have to do to take your name off of a car title is sign the back of the title over to the person or organization you wish to transfer your car. Make sure that any title transfer is treated like a sale, you being the seller and the person or organization being the buyer.
When you elect to transfer a car loan, ensure you transfer all of the car's documents as well. You can change the title holder on a car at your local DMV. There should be instructions on the back of the title for how to change the title to another name. Some titles will allow you to simply write in the new owner.
Mortgages and car loans are unlike other types of personal loans in that they can be transferred. ... It is somewhat easier to transfer a car loan to another person, either with the same lender or a new one. 7 If the new borrower can qualify for the car loan, the lender may agree to transfer the loan into their name.
Can you Transfer a Car Loan to Another Car? Whether you need a newer car or a bigger car, you can trade-in your existing vehicle and roll in the current car loan into the new car that you wish to buy. Make sure to negotiate the best possible price, interest rate, and term before you purchase the car.
Your wife will need to refinance the loan under her name. Refinancing is the only way to change the terms of your car loan and the people it includes. This also means that the interest rate (APR) and length of the loan will change. ... On average, car owners pay $85 less every month by refinancing their auto loan.
There is no set procedure for getting out of being a cosigner. This is because your request to remove yourself will need to be approved by the lender (or you'll need to convince the primary borrower to take you off or adjust the loan).
If you are the cosigner on a loan, then the debt you are signing for will appear on your credit file as well as the credit file of the primary borrower. It can help even a cosigner build a more positive credit history as long as the primary borrower is making all the payments on time as agreed upon.
A cosigner doesn't have any legal rights to the car they've cosigned for, so they can't take a vehicle from its owner. Cosigners have the same obligations as the primary borrower if the loan goes into default, but the lender is going to contact the cosigner to make sure the loan gets paid before this point.
If the borrower forged your signature, or if they committed fraud to enforce you to sign the loan contract, you can sue both the lender and the primary borrower to have your name removed. However, you'll need unquestionable proof that you did not willingly consent to cosign the loan.
Solution: If you made a mistake while filling out your car title, don't use white-out or cross anything out. ... You may be asked to pay a nominal fee or complete a form asking the DMV to correct the mistake by issuing you a new title or notating the error with an official marking.
Make the request in-person or show a notarized letter from the cosigner. Banks will not remove names from an account over the phone. You'll need to visit your bank branch to make this request. Bring along the cosigner, or have this person submit a written statement requesting removal of his name.
This is called cosigner release. When a loan allows cosigner release, the lender sets conditions up front. If the conditions are met, the lender will remove the cosigner from the loan. The lender may require two years of on-time payments, for example.