Q: So when I was 16 my mom used my SSI back owe to buy herself a van. She jusitified it by saying it was for me.
She then traded in the van and bought a car. Now i'm 19 going on 20 I've moved out and had a bad fallout with my mother. I've been struggling to find a decent car to get to stores and doctor appointments and money has been tight. So my questions is since the money she used (8000 usd) was from my back owe, shouldn't the car technically be transfered to me or she have to pay me back some kind of amount?
A:
While you are a minor she is to use that money to assist you but may use it on items that assist the family, such as rent, food. You could make a claim against her for the money but assuming your household was needy enough for you to qualify for SSI, she should be able to show that the money was not spent on items for her use only.
The cost of going to court and trying to make a claim for a purchase money security interest in the car, and then get the title transfered is going to be money down the drain in all liklihood. I would suggest you see if there is a charity in your area that has cars that are donated that they will provide to you. Don't forget if you get a car --even from her--you'd have to be able to afford the repairs to the vehicle, cost of insurance & gas, and that may not be a blessing especially if repairs are needed. Then if repairs are needed and you can't afford them, the car is going to get tickets, you can't pay them it gets impounded etc.
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