Ask the Law Guy

Hello my boyfriend co-signed for automobile for his now ex-girlfriend and she cheated on him and he broke up with her. He now is dating me and we plan to get married. Well, the problem is she has the car and he is paying on it along with the insurance. I am so mad I don’t understand why he can’t go get the car. He said he wouldn’t be able to sell it because she is on the title. But, who says he has to sell it I could drive it rather me than her. What can we do to get the car back and her off the title? She lives in North Carolina I am assuming my boyfriend has a credit union there.

When your boyfriend agreed to be a co-signer he promised the lender that he would pay off the loan to his girlfriend if she did not. Unless he is a co-owner of the car he has no right to take possession of it.

This is true even if his ex treated him badly.

Problem:
There is a property (house and land) that is deeded in the name of two people. (originally owned by 6. 5 signed over there rights to 1 person and 1 person kept their part)

Person #1 has 6 parts
Person #2 has 1 part
What are the rights of Person #1?
Person #1 would like to sell the property but person #2 will not.
Person #2 just moved into the house without discussing anything it with person #1
Person #2 moved in several other people and refuses to help pay any taxes or any house insurance to person#1.
The property has no property insurance on it all right now.
What can person #1 do to sell or get person number #2 to leave or default their position?

It sounds as though you have a tenancy in common with one other person. You own a 5/6 interest in the property and he owns a 1/6 interest. Tenants in common have equal rights to use or occupy real property and no co-tenant can exclude others.

In order to force a sale in North Carolina, you would need to file a petition to partition the property. If the property cannot feasibly be divided in kind, the court will order a sale and distribute to proceeds according to the portion the tenant owned. You would probably need a lawyer's help to get this done.

I have a situation (so many of these on here) where I bought my house back in 1991. The house next door had a fence that my fence had been attached to, but was the neighbor's originally. The neighbors sold the house and then again and again and finally to my current neighbors back in 1997.

I never had any reason to think anything was wrong regarding the property line/fence/driveway situation, until they started harassing me recently. They told me to unhook my fence from theirs so I stopped by our city code enforcement office and spoke with the administrator there and asked did I have to. She said she did not think so, because I was here first and she then proceeded to check her computer and showed me an aerial photo of the property lines and proceeded to tell me that the fence and driveway is anywhere from 1 to 2 feet on my property...possibly more. Also a utility building's roof drip line appears to line up right on the property line. She told me to that the fence is on my property so I might try telling them to unhook their fence from mine or I could try to make them move all their property off my land and then put up my own privacy fence. She suggested that I go ahead and get a survey done, then contact them and make my demand, whichever I prefer. I want the fence and driveway off my property as I want to put up a privacy fence. I don't know for sure that she would know all the legalities of this, but perhaps she does given her position and experience.

Any action will have to be thru the mail or an attorney, being that they have harrassed and communicated threats and the like. I already had No tresspassing signs in my yard, one of which is on my side fence...that they tore down and I had to replace.

In short their fence and driveway at the least are encroaching on my property and we do speak at this point. I do not think that they even know that their fence is over on my property. We have NEVER had any discussion about it or agreement as I had no reason to question it until they demanded that I disconnect my fence from theirs about a month ago. So, in essence this situation was brought to my attention because of their demands. If it makes any difference, I refinanced my house about 2 years ago.

I have searched the statutes regarding adverse possession in my state. According to what I found it says " § 43‑21. No right by adverse possession.
No title to nor right or interest in registered land in derogation of that of the registered owner shall be acquired by prescription or adverse possession. (1913, c. 90, s. 27; C.S., s. 2396.)"

It also says"§ 43‑23. Priority of right. In case of conflicting claims between the registered owners the right, title or estate derived from or held under the older certificate of title shall prevail. (1913, c. 90, s. 29; C.S., s. 2398.)"

I am still researching making sure that I have the correct statutes, but I would appreciate hearing what you think the statutes mean. I think it means that the land is still mine and that they have no squatter's rights and cannot take it, but I would be interested in hearing from others as to their interpretation.

Forget about the statutes and adverse possession for now. If the fence is on your side of the property line, you are entitled to remove it. If there is a question about where exactly the boundaries are, get a survey done. Unless local ordinances say differently you can put your fence right on the property line as long as you do not intrude on your neighbor's property. If your neighbors try to interfere you might have to take them to court, where you will need a lawyer.

I have been receiving payroll checks from my employer that don't have funds available when I take them to the bank. I currently have 3. Is there any legal action I can take or can I report him somewhere?

You have a claim against your employer for unpaid wages. Employers with unpaid payrolls frequently have lots of other unpaid debts as well -- often taxes. Sometimes they failure to turn wage withholding over to the government. Employees have some priority for unpaid wages in bankruptcy proceedings, but it is generally impossible to collect money from a person or company that has no assets. Unless there is a reasonable explanation for returned checks (such as an error), you should start looking for another job so you can pay your bills while you try to collect back pay.


				*Ask the Law Guy*



	Home