Q: My brother cosigned for a vehicle
He was summons today for the remaining balance of the vehicle. It was sold after repossession at an auction. I am responsible for the debt and I want to take care of it. He has a family and I don't want to create a financial hardship on him. Can I respond to the summons asking the court to remove from the liability and that I will take over the debt by making monthly payments?
A:
He has to respond. He can ask to substitute you, but as you defaulted which is why they are going after him, they may say "naaaah--we want him!"
Now, they may agree to make a payment schedule but before he signs off, is the group coming after him the same people you signed a loan with? If not, they have to show an assignment--he has a defense to make "hey, I cosigned with __________________, no offense but how can I trust you are them or that you properly were assigned the debt? " There are certain things that have to happen to assign a debt to another company, and companies process thousands of these and often make mistakes or ignore the requirements of the assignement property. If you have no money see if you can speak with a legal aid attorney who handles consumer issues.
A: Cosigners essentially act as guarantors of a debt when one codebtor defaults on the underlying debt obligation. I doubt you can remove your brother's obligation as he was a cosigner, but you can make the proposal to your creditor to pay back your back loan payments under a settlement or forbearance agreement. Your creditor doesn't care where the money comes from, provided that payments are made as agreed. For more information on this topic, visit www.ProvenResource.com
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